NigSek: A Monster's Tail
by VoidJeans
Summary: Semi-sequel to Angel's Four, this story follows NigSek's task to prevent the assassination attempt on Link's life at a young age.


NOSTALGIA  
  
NigSek the monster was bored. Well, as bored as he could have been, considering what kind of state he was in. It wasn't anything he was longing for, or anything he needed. After all, he wasn't even a monster anymore- he was now a mobile spirit under the ISZAMI Dome, with the freedom, activity and spirit of the very essence of the dome. The large, beautiful encasing for the vibrant elegance of the City of Gold. A city which he had once helped in the protection of for centuries, and saved from near disaster 2 years ago. It was also a very unique city, one which fitted the lack of constraints on the spirits which populated it. There were the elegant paths spreading through the huge, tall golden buildings like a glittering spider's web, but beyond that, the sides of each building were similarly decorated. Archways, temples, paved lanes and even trees stuck out at ninety degree angles from the buildings. If you ever got bored of viewing life from one angle, then change it- for the minute, for the week, or for the rest of your life- whatever they decided was the most suited to them.   
  
Or, if they preferred, using their own knowledge and brainpower to decipher complex enigmas and diplomacies of the world being lived outside of the Dome. This is what NigSek had spent all his time doing in his new and different life. The old spirits of the Dome found him of great interest because of his unique ability- involving not one mind but two. For when NigSek wanted, his mind could be separated into two halves, along with his face, and he often had conversations with himself- a sort of outward lateral thinking process for the world to hear, and it makes him think straighter as he does so. Although it has often proved dramatically irritable when you have a heated argument with your other half, which will be thinking the same things as you, but to resolve them in completely the opposite way. That really intrigued the spirits.  
  
But it wasn't really suited to either NigSek's taste, or to his two other personalities, Nigrowb and Sekapook. It was because he was born a mortal. Okay, maybe that wasn't quite enough to single him out from any of the others here, for they were all mortal- three of them, in particular, were born on the birth of ISZAMI along with him.  
  
No. Perhaps what he meant was, he was bred a mortal. He had experience of life outside of the Dome- 600 years of it, to be precise- to appreciate a life very, different to this. It needed explanation as to why it was different any further than beyond the surface of it, but sure enough, NigSek was convinced it was different- and not entirely pleasing.  
  
NigSek tried to satisfy his boredom. He got off from the ground and floated a bit above the ground. Glowing brightly, he darted ahead into a blotted black archway of a gold building- he was on the ground level to the world, or the 'mortal angle', as some spirits dubbed it. He streaked through a labyrinth of pillars and archways under the building, which lit up dimly for a flash of a second as he made his presence there. He stretched his viewing awareness upwards so he looked both forward and up at the same time, which looked strange for an inexperienced person. He gazed up into the hollow inside of the golden building as if he was looking down a tunnel, and without focusing on anything he passed under another archway and through the low- roofed hallway. Up ahead between more pillars, he sneaked into the bright white and out into the light again of real sunshine. Pausing in mid- air, he settled down and rested on the ground.   
  
He widened his viewing awareness over his glowing, spherical body. Just for nostalgic reasons he willed his body to his original form. He slowly expanded and dimmed, and looking down at his body again, he was mildly relieved to be his old self again- the huge, spiny- shelled, four- armed monster. He looked around down the pathway, to find that he had come out of a short path. He stomped down the path for a while and saw where he was- the ISZAMI Dome middle. It was the largest bit of open space in the City of Gold, and at the very center of its open space was a flight of stairs leading up to an open pit. A pair of spirits and an unusual figure were standing around the pit, watching the gently humming orb suspended above the pit. Inside the orb, almost completely invisible from NigSek's distance, was the very birth object of the whole of ISZAMI- a Segment from the Sacred object of Hyrule. NigSek wandered closer to look upon it. The figure looked briefly at NigSek as his huge bulk made its appearance at the foot of the stairs, before watching the Segment some more.   
  
NigSek reached the top of the stairs and slowly stepped closer to the edge of the pit, raising his head high to observe the Segment. The tiny chipped piece, slowly spinning on an upright axis, glinted in the reflection in NigSek's red eyes. Immediately, he felt a tiny but powerful surge of bravery coarse through his soul. He reminded himself that this was part of the Triforce Segment that belonged to Farore- the goddess of Courage. It was separated from the Triforce when Din, the goddess of Power, collided with Farore during their reentry to the heavens and far beyond.  
  
But with that flush of bravery, hundreds more memories reemerged. He looked slowly behind him, to the large open space of gorgeous green grass. Ah yes, he thought to himself, and to his two separate parts. He remembered clearly the day, two years ago, when he was here along with Mentia, Pengal, Siriee and Link fighting the tyrannical Stalvagia, the Zombie dragon. He remembered their victory over the decaying creature, and over the apocalyptic angel of Death- well, Link did. As NigSek recalled, Death had thrown his huge monster body straight into a nearby building, crushing him to his near doom.  
  
But what then came back to NigSek, wasn't the thought of Link finally defeating Death, but everything else before that final confrontation. Since the first time they had met each other, right up to even when NigSek said his final farewells to them all in Hyrule Castle. He even got the acquaintance of meeting Queen Zelda on that trip.   
  
It was all emerging to NigSek at that time, what made this place different to the outside of the Dome.....  
  
A spirit flashed past NigSek's eyes, which broke his trance- like gaze into deep space. This caused NigSek to blink a couple of times before he looked at the spirit which zoomed past him. The spirit bobbed up and down like a fairy, and landed beside NigSek at the top of the stairs, facing away from the Segment.  
  
The Spirit immediately expanded and dimmed into a little gray creature. Partially transparent and red- eyed, the small animal looked up at NigSek.   
  
NigSek immediately smiled. 'I knew it would have been you.' He said politely.  
  
'You weren't hard to spot either, in that form.' Gengaa replied with mockery. He was a natural Evil Spirit, but within a few years of being within the ISZAMI Dome all forms become a sort of neutral form. Both NigSek and Gengaa weren't in the actual Dome for long enough, so while NigSek still retained his politeness and optimism, Gengaa was still cheeky and impudent now and again.  
  
'So how have you been, since I spoke to you last?' NigSek asked the little ghost. 'Been doing anything interesting lately?'  
  
'Nothing.' He blurted out bluntly. 'Absolutely nothing at all apart from floating around like everyone else does.'  
  
'Oh.' NigSek looked back up again, twiddling his chubby clawed fingers in an awkward manner. He never thought of Gengaa being the conversational type. Then again, he had even less contact with a proper mortal life than he himself did. He never managed to go travelling much, unlike him....... The memories....  
  
Gengaa looked a little cautious. He looked at NigSek again with a raised eyebrow, watching as yet again the huge monster stared into open air and through another thought process. 'You're into another one of those thinking moods again, aren't you?' He suspected.  
  
NigSek shook his head clear of the thought process. He sighed. 'Do you ever miss being back outside the Dome?'  
  
Gengaa shrugged. 'No, not really. It's as boring as hell in here, but I wouldn't go back to my old life.' He glanced side- on at NigSek, from his vertically challenged height. 'I wasn't the one who received the title of 'Hero of ISZAMI' and lived the high life, was I?'  
  
NigSek returned the glance with a smile. 'Then again, you never got into any more near- death experiences like I did. The only one you experienced was being transformed to stone- and, of course, my innocent threat of ripping you to shreds.'  
  
Gengaa didn't look impressed at that remark- he wasn't the type who appreciated a satirical joke like that. 'So you admitted yourself that you nearly died on a number of occasions- why would you ever want to go back out there again?' He watched NigSek for any reaction, but he kept still, thinking again. 'Well, NigSek? Why?'  
  
NigSek exhaled in a sigh. 'Because it's perfect.'  
  
Upon hearing that, Gengaa looked at NigSek in an even more unusual manner. 'What do you mean?'  
  
'I mean that the world outside of the dome is as perfect as it is in here.'  
  
Gengaa glowed and hovered in his spirit form, not dissimilar to his original ghost form. 'THIS is perfection- there's no death, no disease, no bad weather, everyone is at peace with each other.......'  
  
But NigSek shook his head. 'Gengaa- have you ever considered what makes something exactly perfect?' He stepped down the flight of stairs away from the Triforce Segment, towards the open space of green grass. Gengaa followed behind him in his little spirit form.  
  
'You see how the gods and goddesses from beyond our mortal and semi- mortal are interwoven with each other, in the vast space of nothing?' NigSek rested himself on the grass and plucked a blade of grass between his clawed fingers. Another blade of grass immediately grew out of the ground in place of it.  
  
'I never heard of the story about the gods and goddesses before.' Gengaa said after a pause. 'Though I looked after the Source of Knowledge. It never really entered my mind to look for those sort of things in it.'   
  
NigSek concentrated, and he felt his mind balance between two halves. Then his head divided down the center, and both halves looked at Gengaa. 'You see how our form works?' began Nigrowb.  
  
'The way that our halves of NigSek work as one, but in different styles?' added Sekapook.  
  
Gengaa nodded his stout head. 'Yes, you have a very nice party piece, but what has that got to do with-'  
  
'Our form is based all around a similar style to Dimension, Life, Death.........'  
  
'....... Good and Evil.' Receited the two heads. 'On our own, we are very different from the other.'  
  
'I, Nigrowb, am the rational thinking half of the two' and with that, his half of the face swiveled around to the other one. 'No arguments about that!'  
  
The other half gave a cross look back. 'Whereas I am the more power- hungry and stronger half.' Sekapook finished.  
  
'Together.' Both the heads continued. 'We are combined into one form, with both halves of the mind counterbalanced to produce the equal result- NigSek.'  
  
Gengaa was a little moody. 'What has that to do with perfection, and this Dome, and wanting to be back outside again?'  
  
NigSek had hoped he would ask that. Both heads thought through how to answer, and explained it to the little ghost. 'Now, what would happen if, for reasons not worth questioning at the moment, one of our heads or halves of ourselves no longer existed?' With that Sekapook closed his eye and lowered his head. He looked asleep.  
  
Gengaa was still silent, watching them with a sense of annoyance.  
  
'Well, if Sekapook, the other half of me, no longer existed, I would be left with Nigrowb, the rational thinker. But I would not possibly cope with thinking, a little devious, at all. So I would no longer be counterbalanced in mind, and neither would I be balanced in person- I would be just a mess of a person. To be the half- way point again, I would need Sekapook back again.' Now Sekapook opened his eyes and lifted his head again. 'We are back to being one perfect civilian again.'  
  
'I don't follow you.' Gengaa said bluntly.  
  
'That's similar to the whole world- we are always striving to perfection. Everyone is trying to make their lives as bearable as they can by supposedly making it perfect. To you and me, that would mean preventing any bit of bad luck in our everyday lives as we can- feeling less ill, getting out of the way of bad weather, making sure we survive the day without being killed by any creatures- all things which we don't like.'  
  
'You don't like those things.' Gengaa grinned a little beam of white teeth across his face, like the crescent of the moon. 'But I love that kind of thing.'  
  
'Well, it's the opposite for you.' Corrected the two heads. 'You try as much as you can to stop happiness and peace. But my point is, we all veer off to one side of life. Yet, if that happened, we wouldn't be perfect. Like with my two halves, we need both to live in the world. But there's more to it.' NigSek breathed in deeply. 'To compare it with the land we live in, we need absolutely everything. Nothing on its own is completely perfect. I'm not perfect, you're not perfect. Even the gods on their own aren't perfect.'  
  
Gengaa rubbed his head with his stubby arm- this was going into deep thinking territory. 'So, what are you trying to say, after all this?'  
  
'What I'm trying to say is, there is only two ways to describe something as perfect and involve entities, objects and the such in it- either, everything is perfect, or nothing is perfect. There is no in- between' Nigrowb and Sekapook stood up and lifted all four arms up to the City of Gold all around him and towering far above. 'This Dome has neither good nor bad actions in it. There may be no pain or disease or hatred here, but to compensate it has no love, no freedom, no peace. Because it has the lesser quantity, this place is nothing. We spend our time in here doing nothing, being nothing, and achieving nothing. There...' He promptly pointed to the edge of the Dome, and out to the slightly duller green grass, leading up to the lush forest. 'Outside, is the 'everything' that this is not. Outside is the death and life, the peace and war, the good and the bad. There is the perfectly balanced world that this place promised to be. Outside, is perfect.'  
  
Gengaa looked to the floor with regret. He kept silent as NigSek walked up to him. 'You know, actually I do, deep inside, miss certain aspects of outside the Dome. People who I would terrorize and laugh at mercilessly, torture cruelly and without moral responsibility....'  
  
'You see.' NigSek crouched down to Gengaa's level, both heads watching him. 'We experienced the 'everything', and none of these other spirits have. They've known nothing all of their lives. They can't understand what you and I feel. It is an alien concept to them.'  
  
Gengaa looked up at NigSek. 'But we're stuck here. We might as well convert to it, whether we like it or not. There's nothing we can really do.'  
  
NigSek was silent. He conjured his mind internally to be one again, and his head formed again. He sat down next to Gengaa on the ground, resting his head on his two front hands, and crossing his other two arms across his chest.  
  
'Also what I think that's bothering you.' Gengaa concluded. 'You miss Link.'  
  
NigSek slowly nodded, dreary eyed and staring out to the green forest, 'And Mentia, and Siriee, and Pengal, Zelda.... Everyone I've met. They're all outside the Dome.'  
  
Then Gengaa had an inspiration. 'Didn't Eda and Kee say we could leave the Dome, if we wanted?'  
  
'No. The Spirits only left the Dome for the first celebration of the Heroes of ISZAMI, and after the fiasco of that they chose to seal up the shield again.' NigSek looked at the back of one of his hands, flipping it to its front. 'When we were outside we could spread the spell of the shield to other people for protection. But now I lost that spell after casting it on those people.'  
  
Gengaa looked up. 'You mean you actually HAD some of that spell left over?' He asked in his little grotty voiced in a surprised manner. 'I lost it the moment I cast the spell on the shield.'  
  
NigSek glanced at the ghost, an idea sprung in his head. 'We cast the shield- I thought we would still be impervious to it now.'  
  
'Shall we try it?' Gengaa enthusiastically suggested.  
  
'Can't see why not.'   
  
Both characters got up on their feet and changed to spirit mode. Twirling around each other on the spot, they zoomed up through the short narrow passageway to the shield perimeter. There was hardly any room between the Dome shield and the first few buildings, so it felt mildly cramped to them. Gengaa fluttered to the ground, and expanded into his original form. He watched NigSek follow behind him.  
  
NigSek willed himself back to his original form- but couldn't. He stopped in mid flight, hovering on the spot.  
  
Gengaa noticed him and zipped back. 'What's wrong?' He asked.  
  
Then NigSek disappeared, in a twinkle.  
  
That was when Gengaa, the other spirits, and the City of Gold, and the other surroundings, began to change.  
  
DIFFERENCE  
  
NigSek never lost his foreseeable conscious during the transaction, but he couldn't do anything. His awareness in sight, sound and mind, was being spread to the maximum. All he could see was pure white. He blinked his eyes- and as he blinked he still saw white. He had no idea where he was.  
  
YOU ARE NEEDED TO PREVENT A MISTAKE, a woman's voice called to him. Well, to him in his mind.  
  
NigSek jumped, in sense anyway. He was unsure whether his actual body did jump, or whether he was in his body at all. WHO ARE Y-. He stopped. What was....... Why was he talking in his mind?  
  
CARRY ON. The woman's voice prompted. JUST TALK TO ME AS IF YOU WOULD TALK NORMALLY. It was a silky voice, and low in pitch.  
  
He started again. WHO ARE YOU?  
  
This time, there was no answer. He couldn't hear anyone or anything, nor see anyone or anything, nor touch, smell, or taste. It was a limbo.  
  
ARE YOU STILL THERE? He asked again, in his mind.  
  
YES. The voice replied.  
  
WHY DIDN'T YOU ANSWER MY QUESTION?  
  
She answered. PERHAPS IT WOULD BE BETTER IF I DID NOT TELL YOU THAT.  
  
WHY AM I HERE? Was NigSek's next question.  
  
I WILL TELL YOU THAT ONE. A deep man's voice said to him. That surprised NigSek again. YOU ARE HERE BECAUSE WE HAVE DISCOVERED A MISTAKE IN THE UNRAVELLING.  
  
NigSek thought- his thought process suddenly went very slowly, so he needed time to think. WHAT IS THIS MISTAKE?  
  
Evidently this slowing of thought processes affected the voices, too, for there was a pause before he replied. LINK, THE HERO OF TIME FROM HYRULE, NO LONGER EXISTS. HE HAS BEEN ERADICATED FROM TIME ALTOGETHER. THE EFFECTS OF THIS ARE BEGINNING TO TAKE PLACE IN THE MORTAL WORLDS.  
  
NigSek's thoughts were speeding up. He answered immediately. WHAT EFFECTS?  
  
LINK AND HIS FAMILY HAVE GREAT INTERACTION WITH MANY WORLDS. HE HAS SAVED MANY PLACES FROM CERTAIN DOOM. AND NOW, WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED HAD LINK NOT BEEN AROUND, IS HAPPENING. ISZAMI HAS BEEN DESTROYED BY THE ANGELS FOUR, ALONG WITH EVERYTHING THERE. THE WIND FISH IS STILL BEING DRIVEN TO MADNESS BY ITS OWN NIGHTMARES, AND THE LAND OF HYRULE IS BEING RULED OVER BY GANONDORF DRAGMIRE. TOGETHER, THESE CHANGES HAVE CATASTROPHICAL EFFECT ON THE WORLD.  
  
SO WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP PREVENT IT? WHY DID YOU HAVE TO TAKE ME?  
  
There was a silence. Then a different voice answered. IT WAS ONLY BECAUSE WE CHOSE TO PICK YOU FIRST. AND NOW YOU ARE THE ONLY PERSON WHO REMEMBERS LINK'S EXISTENCE. ALMOST EVERYONE ELSE WHO KNEW HIM IS NOW DEAD.  
  
ALMOST? NigSek emphasized.  
  
The voice, which sounded not to dissimilar to Death, explained. THOSE WHO ARE NOT DEAD WILL NOT REMEMBER HIM ANYWAY, BECAUSE HE DID NOT EXIST IN THEIR LIVES. NOW YOU REALLY ARE THE ONLY HOPE.  
  
WHY COULDN'T THE GODS AND GODDESSES PREVENT IT? IF THAT IS WHO YOU ARE. NigSek inquired, after the notion struck him in the head.  
  
The voice changed again. It sounded like a small child this time. IT IS NOT OUR PART TO CHANGE HISTORY. WE NEED THE ASSISTANCE OF SOMEONE FROM THE MORTAL LAND. YOU ARE WHO WE NEED.  
  
There is something disturbing and gut wrenching when a child, or at least a child's voice, speaks with the valor and knowledge of a grown person. Nevertheless, NigSek accepted this from them. WHAT DO YOU REQUIRE ME TO DO?  
  
Again, the voice changed, but back to the woman's voice again. WE KNOW ONLY THAT THE CHANGE HAPPENED BEFORE LINK THE FIRST'S BIRTH, LONG AGO IN HYRULE'S PAST. HISTORY WAS CHANGED THEN, AND YOU WILL NEED TO CHANGE IT BACK AGAIN, OR PREVENT IT FROM HAPPENING.  
  
To prevent it from happening- that sounded like the notion of time- travelling. YOU WILL SEND ME TO THE PAST SO I CAN PROTECT HIS..... PARENTS, PERHAPS?  
  
YES. THAT IS CORRECT. BUT THERE IS MORE TO THE POINT THAN WHAT YOU KNOW.  
  
Oh?  
  
YOUR PRESENT FORM IS UNSUITABLE- PEOPLE WILL BE FRIGHTENED OF YOUR MONSTROUS BODY. YOU WILL HAVE TO TRAVEL BACK IN A DIFFERENT FORM. A HUMAN FORM.  
  
NigSek gasped, in his mind. A human form.... To roam the world amongst others without isolation, to be free from the confines of the Dome. It would be his dream.....  
  
But then, NigSek remembered. His two halves of his mind- what will happen to them once they are joined together, forever once he is in his human shape, without the ability to separate them? They are of one mind, but over six hundred- odd years they have acted as two. If they became one again, they would be devastated, perhaps even go mad with total dependence.   
  
The man's voice spoke. DO NOT WORRY, NIGSEK- WE HAVE TAKEN THAT INTO ACCOUNT. That jolted NigSek's attention to the voices. WE KNOW HOW ALL THREE OF YOUR MINDS WORK, SO WE CAME WITH THE SIMPLE CONCLUSION- YOU WILL COMPLETE THIS TASK, NOT AS ONE PERSON, BUT TWO.  
  
But now that NigSek heard this with his own ears, or what he used to hear with, this sounded even worse than the other option. WILL WE STILL HAVE OUR CONJOINED PSYCHOLOGICAL BOUNDARIES? WILL WE KNOW WHAT THE OTHER IS THINKING, LIKE ONE MIND?  
  
The voices in the great white realm went silent.  
  
WELL? Said NigSek.  
  
NO. The voice that sounded like Death answered. FOR THIS TIME, BOTH MINDS, IN BOTH PERSONS, WILL HAVE TO BECOME INDEPENDENT.  
  
FOR HOW LONG? Asked NigSek more.  
  
AS LONG AS LINK'S BIRTH IS DETERMINED AND THE THREAT IS ABOLISHED. THIS ACTION MIGHT INVOLVE MONTHS, TO MAKE SURE.  
  
NigSek's eyes widened- months! That could be disastrous. That might mess up the whole notion of his life completely forever. What if both Nigrowb and Sekapook were too independent? Their reemergence might cause them to retaliate, therefore dividing his mind further than he could ever cope. Perhaps even tearing his whole spirit apart by itself. He could die.  
  
UNFORTUNATELY, THAT IS A RISK YOU AND US WILL HAVE TO TAKE. The child's voice concluded. BUT WE CAN SAY THAT SOMEONE, WHO YOU WILL NO DOUBT MEET, WILL RECOGNISE YOU AND OFFER YOU ADVICE, TO HELP YOU FURTHER.  
  
That didn't consolidate him much. He was still distraught about the whole double person thing, it's consequences and execution. But if he didn't do it, then Link will be forgotten forever, and the three main lands of his world will lay in shambles. I'LL TAKE YOUR MISSION. He told the voices.  
  
A CREATURE OF YOUR HONOR IS OBLIGED TO DO SO. The woman's voice said. FOR THE GOOD OF ALL. YOU ARE A TRULY NOBLE SPIRIT. When she said that, NigSek felt a lifting sensation. He was slowly floating higher.  
  
Then he stopped. BEFORE WE SEND YOU BACK, WE WILL TELL YOU THIS; YOU WILL KNOW HIS MOTHER WHEN YOU SEE HER. Then NigSek carried on floating higher, and higher. He felt the lifting sensation, but he couldn't experience it as he would normally do.  
  
He was trying to think, but he couldn't do it properly. His mind..... it was changing so much. Thinking about anything caused it to hurt, and the longer he spent here, the more it hurt. His inner spirit, too, felt different- it was changing as well. It was a horrible experience.  
  
And then, he stopped thinking like himself. In fact, he stopped thinking. Lame- brained and with loss of reaction, he stared forward into the white that he had been facing all of this time. None of his senses were working properly except for sight- probably- so all he did was stare, limp.  
  
The white of the realm narrowed to a single point in a deep empty black space.  
  
And then, it disappeared.  
  
'Uhhhhhnnnnnn.........'  
  
He cracked an eyelid open. Staring up to the blue sky, through a patchwork of leaves, he blinked. He still laid there without moving, just watching. A few drops of rain fell down through the trees. He saw a cloud edge over the sky, way above him. It turned what blue he could see into deep gray. He could make out two thrushes chirping in a tree to his right. The grass beneath his head was cold and wet, soaking the back of his head. He rolled his head slowly to his right, towards the direction of the birds music. His eyes bulged.  
  
There was a man laying right beside him, staring back at him.  
  
Both men jumped up shouting in shock. Staring into each others eyes and yelling until their faces turned red, they shuffled away from each other. They screamed so much that they quickly went out of breath.  
  
'Who are you?' One gasped, with a palm clasped to his chestplate.  
  
'I was.... Going to ask you..... the same thing.' The other man wheezed.  
  
'I asked first.' The first man reminded him.  
  
The second man opened his mouth to answer. Slowly he averted his gaze to the grassy ground between his legs. 'I.... Can't remember.'  
  
The first man stumbled as he tried to think of his name. 'I can't, remember either.' He admitted. Both men stared into the eyes of the other for a long period of time, thinking of nothing. The rain increased from a trickle to a shower. It filtered in through the canopy of the forest that they were in.  
  
'Do you remember.... The Dome.... And the Realm we were in......'  
  
The other man's face brightened. 'Yes, yes! And we were told of that mission we were to be sent on......'  
  
The second man clicked his fingers, scrambling closer to the first. 'We're NigSek! We've been transformed into our two human shapes!'  
  
'I remember now. We're Nigrowb and Sekapook!' Then the first man squinted at the second. 'Is that.... what I look like, at the moment?'  
  
The second observed the first. 'Do I look like a well- built man in late twenties, with bright orange hair, light silver armor on, spiked wristbands?'  
  
The first man nodded. 'Yes, that describes you in a nutshell.'  
  
'Then that's what you look like as well.' He moved himself to sit besides he other man. He kept silent, trying to think less than what he was thinking now, but his mind was buzzing like a hornet's nest. His brain hurt, but he kept perfectly still.  
  
The other man looked at him with confusion. 'What are you doing?' He asked.  
  
He kept silent. 'I miss our old form already.' Was his reply.  
  
'Mmmm.' The other agreed. Then, he realized something further. 'We know who we were before- but do we know who we are now?'  
  
The silent man looked up. In the confusion they had both moved under the shelter of a tree, and they were overlooking the glade which they had appeared in. It was sloping downwards from them, and the opposite side to them was thick with bushes and roots from the trees there. They could only see one canopy in the trees, and it didn't reach much further than a couple off feet higher beyond that. The mildly dark gray sky was pouring rain down into the forest. They felt really rather snug in their position, even though it was still slightly damp.  
  
'Am I Nigrowb, or Sekapook?' The silent man turned to ask the other.  
  
The other man pursed his lips. 'How did we tell the difference before?'  
  
'Well, as NigSek we knew how both thought and what our differences are. Now, our conjoined thought process has been severed.'  
  
The other man looked slowly at the first, and smiled a broad, wide smile. 'You're Nigrowb.'  
  
Nigrowb shook his head quickly and looked at the man. 'How did you come to that conclusion?'  
  
'Because an idea like that never passed through my mind. Nigrowb was the knowledgeable one, if I remember right. Therefore, you're Nigrowb, and I'm Sekapook.'  
  
Nigrowb shrugged. That'll do for now- at least we know what to call ourselves by. But how will we remember? We must think of a way to tell ourselves apart.'  
  
Sekapook looked perplexed. 'What do you mean? We just remember what we're called- you remember you're Nigrowb and I'll remember my name.'  
  
Nigrowb shook his head in a knowledgeable manner. 'Ah, but we won't remember. Because from now on we both have to think as one mind by ourselves, our first presumption will be that we are both as our original single mind- as NigSek. Our names will slip.'  
  
'Come on. Get up.' Sekapook urged him up as he stood on his feet and rubbed his behind clean of dirt. He looked at his legs for the first time, and noticed the thick leather boots on his feet, big and clumpy, and reached up to his knees. The rest of his leg, up to the thigh, was protected by a pair of chain mail overalls, which he could now feel as being underneath everything he was already wearing. As he looked at Nigrowb, donned in exactly the same clothing, he raised half a smile- at least they had given them suitable protective clothing. But no weapons.  
  
Now they stared, face to face. They were the same height, the same facial features, the same orange, wildly spiky hair which looked like fire ablaze on his head, the same silver chest plating, the same metallic spiked wristbands and spiked neckband.....  
  
Then Sekapook looked at Nigrowb's head. Nestled in his hair, sticking out only slightly and barely visible, a silver object shined. 'Nigrowb, keep still for a second.' Sekapook walked up to him and pushed his hair back with his right hand. As he did so, the shiny object presented itself in all its glory- it was a horn, made from metal and polished to perfection. When Sekapook pushed more hair away- to the discomfort and disgrace of Nigrowb- he saw a little chain link, which was tied around his whole face. This was a sort of half- helmet which only covered a tiny portion of the right half of Nigrowb's head.  
  
'Do I get to do that to you now?' Nigrowb huffed as he was allowed to get back upright, and pushed his hair back into place.  
  
Sekapook quietly laughed. 'No, you don't.' But now Sekapook lifted his hand to feel the right- hand side of his head- and, as he expected, there was nothing there. He touched the other side of his head with his left hand, and his hand touched a smooth, cold silver cylindrical object. He rubbed his hand up the curve of the horn, up to the sharp point at the end.  
  
Nigrowb watched him, and also looked intrigued by the horn on his head. 'Hey, have I got one on my head?' He lifted his hand up to touch it. 'Yes I do, but it's on the other side, opposite yours.' With that, Nigrowb stepped over to Sekapook's right, and nudged closer. He put his head up close to Sekapook's head, touching it.  
  
Sekapook realized what he was seeing. 'Ah, yes. These horns are representations of the horns of our previous form. This is how we tell each other apart- Nigrowb has the horn on the right of his head, and Sekapook has the horn on his left.'  
  
Nigrowb was impressed. 'What was all this you were talking about where I was the better thinker? For all I know, you could be Nigrowb.'  
  
Sekapook (Nigrowb?) screwed his face up in frustration. 'Don't start something like that off!' He spun around to face him and poked his finger at him. 'For now, I am Sekapook- got it?'  
  
Nigrowb laughed. 'I was only joking! I know you're still thicker than me!'  
  
Sekapook made an action like he was about to hit him. Then he calmed down. 'But do you realize something, now we are here, and working as two people?' He rested his arm to his side, and breathed in through his nose. 'We need each other more than we ever did.'  
  
Nigrowb nodded. 'Just like we were explaining to Gengaa. But now it's not to strive for perfection, or to balance out our differences. We need each other, just to survive.' He looked longingly at Sekapook as if he was a brother. He gave him a friendly hug, and Sekapook did the same. They began to shed tears.  
  
'You promise that you will never be apart from me, will you?' Sekapook whispered.  
  
'I promise.' Said Nigrowb with equal feelings. 'And vice versa.'  
  
'Vice versa. Friend.'  
  
With a bit of confused searching around the glade and location of their sense of direction, the two men passed through the damp cold woods they were in, to a great, open field. It was still raining heavily, and the clouds flickered with light around the edges, following a deep, crisp rumbling noise above them.  
  
Side by side, Nigrowb and Sekapook marched up to the top of the low hill in the wide field. Evidently they had simply come across a further gap through the woods, since all around the field opposite them were more trees, and nobody in sight.  
  
'If this is Hyrule, than it's smaller than I thought.' Said Nigrowb.  
  
'Or bigger.' Added Sekapook. 'We might still be in this forest.'  
  
Nigrowb looked back at Sekapook for a second. 'Of course, of course. I did know that.'  
  
'Then why did you say anything?'  
  
Nigrowb looked at Sekapook again in an irritated manner. 'It was just for conversational purposes.' He answered with an edge to his voice.   
  
Suddenly, a great force blew at them from the side. Nigrowb and Sekapook's hair were blown wildly to the side, and were forced sideways. They stumbled a bit in the aftermath of a miniature gust down the hill.  
  
Nigrowb stopped in his tracks, and exchanged a glance with Sekapook. Then they both looked to their right, where the blast came from.  
  
Over the gentle peak of the hill, a little skull appeared. It scuttled sideways like a crab on small, sharp legs. They looked like they were carved from bones. It stopped, and turned around to face the two men, staring at them with its deep, black eye sockets. Little round lungs, which pulsated as the creature bobbed up and down in patience, expanded and shrunk out of where its cheeks should have been..  
  
Nigrowb and Sekapook stayed perfectly still in equal anticipation. Sekapook didn't know what it was, and there was no point in asking Nigrowb, since they were the same person and knew the same things. Instead, they looked at exchanged glances again, and went charging up the hill with their arms outstretched, screaming after the skull creature.  
  
Without any sense of cowardice, the skull creature's lungs expanded grotesquely in proportion to its body as its bony mouth opened wide. In curiosity they both slowed down to watch it.  
  
Then, as both men edged closer, it exhaled. A chilled and incredibly powerful gale force wind was blown out of its mouth. The grass, the falling rain, Nigrowb and Sekapook, were all blown away with such strength that both people didn't even have enough reaction time to register surprise. It only struck them as they struck the ground and rolled further down the hill. They were now at the edge of the forest, and where the ground was at its muddiest.  
  
Sekapook leaned up and rubbed the dirt off his arms. 'The little thing's stronger than we thought.' He remarked.  
  
Nigrowb got up onto his knees, and watched the little crab- like skull creature scuttle down the hill closer to them. It seemed to be playing around with them, as monsters do. Perhaps it would have been less courageous had the animal known what either of those two men were, but for now, they had to make do as they were.  
  
When the skull- crab finished moving closer and resumed to spin around to face them, Sekapook lunged at him- and the skull artfully skipped away. He landed with his face in the dirt again.  
  
Nigrowb made for the same action. He scrambled to his feet and jumped over Sekapook, at the skull. The skull darted straight forwards, and under him as he too fell to the ground. Sekapook lifted his head in time to watch as the skull- crab leapt upwards, onto his head, and scuttled over his back, away from them.   
  
This time, Sekapook was more accurate. When the skull- crab reached his legs he kicked one up, which caused the animal to flip on his rounded head. Its legs were twitching insanely in the air, as it tried its best to roll over to its side.   
  
Nigrowb got onto his feet and glanced back at the skull- crab, which was now making a rocking movement to and fro, side to side. Before it began to keel over from one strong push on its behalf, Nigrowb bent down and grabbed it by one of the legs. 'Now we got you.' He cackled, then he examined it closely as it dangled and slowly turned between his fingers. It was wriggling about in a frenzied flurry of legs, and snapping its bony jaws with a sick clicking noise.  
  
'What exactly is it?' Asked Sekapook, getting up off the ground and looking up at it wriggling around.  
  
Nigrowb inspected it closely. It was a very compact design, with the main body consisting of the skull. Behind the lower jaw, two sacks were wobbling about. These were deep blue in color. The ten scrawny legs stuck out from a bony lump at the base of the skull, which would normally have been a normal person's neck bone. Each leg ended in a single bony spike, smooth and blunt. 'It certainly is ugly, that's all I can say.'  
  
Beyond them, in the thick of the trees and darkness, a scream echoed outwards, ringing in their ears.  
  
Nigrowb quickly looked in the direction of the scream, as did Sekapook. They couldn't see anything, but they definitely heard it.  
  
Nigrowb looked back down at the skull- crab- only to find a single leg left in his hand. He did a double take as he watched the animal scuttle, nine- legged, behind the base of a tree.  
  
'What the....' Nigrowb blurted.  
  
'Get it!' Shouted Sekapook. He ran straight into the shade of the tree around the back of the nearest one, which the skull- crab hid behind. It leapt out again and darted off to another one, with a bush at its base. It slid snug into its bramble thorns.  
  
Now the screaming began again. It was louder this time- in fact, the person was very close. It was followed by a scream for help. This captured the attention of Nigrowb and Sekapook, who forgot about the crab for the meantime.  
  
'Leave it for now.' Nigrowb told Sekapook. 'Someone needs our help!' With that, he bravely ran in the direction of the voice, around more trees. Sekapook followed behind, with a leap over the skull- crab as it flashed out from underneath the bush again. He took one last look at it before he sprinted around a tree.  
  
'Sekapook- over here!' Nigrowb called. Sekapook centered in on the voice, jumping over fallen logs and damp, soggy mud. He easily caught up with Nigrowb, who found the source of the calling. Sekapook looked at it with curiosity.  
  
A person, dressed in a clean, light brown hooded cloak, was standing perfectly still under the shade of the overlapping trees and branches. The hood on top was moving left and right in sudden movements- this person was on the look out for something.  
  
Sekapook moved forward first. 'Excuse us. Did you- '  
  
Immediately Nigrowb, the more cautious of NigSek's half, pulled Sekapook back by the arm. He jerked backwards and stumbled slightly. 'Wait a minute. We don't want to jump to conclusions.'  
  
But the person had already heard them. The hooded person turned around with a sudden movement.  
  
Then, with a whooshing noise, that person flew off to the side, along with branches, leaves, soil and a deep whistling through the trees. The person screamed, before they collided with the side of a tree. With a hard thump, the person rolled to the floor, limp.  
  
'Oh no.' Nigrowb uttered. He was fearing the worst.  
  
Sekapook saw movement from the corner of his eye. He turned his head and saw, nestled beneath a low bramble bush, one of those skull- crab animals. 'It's one of our little friends, again.' He muttered to Nigrowb.  
  
Nigrowb looked at the bush, eyeing the tiny skull poking through and peering at him. Sekapook watched his friend with alarm. He was changing slightly. His eyes, glowed slightly with a fiery tinge. In his pupils flickered the soft image of flames. He was enraged to see innocent animals, and people, suffer innocently. This creature wasn't doing it in self defense, either, if the case was so with the one they came across before. This was hurting people, for fun.  
  
Without hesitation Nigrowb marched up to the bramble bush. Sekapook watched the skull- crab retreat back under the bush into the shady region. But Nigrowb crouched, knelt on the ground, and stuck his hand right through the hole in the bush, regardless of the thorns on the brambles. Yanking his arm out as quickly as he shoved it in, he held the wriggling mass of bony legs and skull in his tightly clenched fist.  
  
Nigrowb then got up onto his feet, and looked straight into the face of the creature with his fiery eyes.  
  
With an unnaturally seething temper he held it in his shaking arm. He took time to show to the creature, whether he understood or not, how much trouble he was in. Evidently he did, since he stopped moving around so much and waited for what was to happen.  
  
And what was to happen went by so quickly that Sekapook only had a flash of what happened. Nigrowb held the skull- crab in his arm and threw it down before him with such force that the animal exploded. Shards of bone, and a small charred crater in the soil, was all that was left of the creature.  
  
Nigrowb was deeply shocked by what he had done. He slumped down slightly, looking at the bits of bone around the place. 'Did..... did I- I do that?' He asked Sekapook nervously.  
  
Sekapook nodded. 'Yep, and I saw it with my own eyes.' He walked up to him and put an arm around his shoulder. 'How did you do that?'  
  
Nigrowb shrugged. 'I don't honestly know. I was just so mad at the thought of that person being injured.......' Then he did a double take. 'The person!' He exclaimed. 'We'd better see if they're okay!'  
  
Both of them sprinted up to the tree a few yards away that the person hit. They slowed down to a few steps when they overlooked the cloaked person. Nigrowb lifted the person gently in his arms and turned them over. He pulled the hood gently off the person to uncover the face.  
  
At that point, Nigrowb and Sekapook stared in utter disbelief. It looked like..... Link.  
  
MEETING  
  
Sekapook heard rustling from behind him. He looked back - and was frightened stiff.  
  
He saw skull- crabs - lots and lots of skull crabs. Hundreds were pouring out from underneath bushes, many crawled down from the branches of trees down the side of the bark, some fell down to the ground with a thump on their feet, before turning to face the right way. Eventually the whole of the floor of the woodland area was ankle- deep with hundreds of the vile creatures. All with clickety- clack bony legs, pulsating lung sacks, all orientating on the three people there.  
  
'We need to go. Now' Sekapook urged Nigrowb. 'Quick. There's hundreds of them.'  
  
Nigrowb looked over his shoulder. His eyes almost popped out of their sockets. 'Agreed.' He said with a satirical calmness. He walked as fast as he could towing the mystery person through the treetrunks. He was following Sekapook, who he knew didn't know where he was going, but it was better than to be left behind with those things.  
  
The skull- crabs, intent enough with their impressive show of overwhelming numbers, didn't even attempt to chase the running people. Instead, from what Sekapook could see through the trees, they returned to their hiding places, clearing up the general area. When he saw the last of the skull- crabs sneak up the trees, the place looked perfectly and peacefully empty. It sent a shiver down his back.  
  
After walking a while, they found the beginnings of a stream, near the base of a rocky waterfall. It was one of those you really couldn't call a 'waterfall', but it was steep enough for it to fall down to the base and produce a rich, white froth at the base. The whole stream was settled in an open area full of large rounded pebbles, between the confines of the woodland areas either side of it. Upwards, Nigrowb could see the deep blue sky streaked with stretching clouds. Above the canopy, way into the distance, Sekapook saw a volcano. It looked dormant, though.  
  
Nigrowb settled the mystery person at the edge of the stream. Cool water trickled beside them, shimmering with reflections of the sunlight. It looked at though crystals were twinkling inside it. Sekapook looked around again at the scenery he could see. Something caught his attention from the water, but it bobbed down again out of view. It was gone, anyway.  
  
Nigrowb looked into the face of the person with curiosity. He gently eased the hood completely off of his face to uncover it properly. But as he did, he realized both his and Sekapook's error. This couldn't have been Link. It was a girl.  
  
She had a face that was startlingly similar to Links face- the nose, the shape of her cheeks and jawbone, even the hair- but now he could see it properly, he saw his error. This woman had, hidden under her hood, a jewel- encrusted tiara. It wasn't as elegant as, say, Zelda's was, but it certainly was beautiful, set in her hair. The long strands of her softly curled hair were much longer than Link's, reaching all the way down to the floor from her slightly lifted position. As Nigrowb looked closer, he noticed her lipstick being a light pink color, tinted slightly. It blended in wonderfully with her pale face.  
  
Nigrowb sighed with a dreamy smile. She was beautiful.  
  
After an impatient time watching out for what he had caught a glimpse of, Sekapook looked down to the two at the base of the river. 'So, how is he? Is he hurt badly?' He glanced at the girl's face. He did a double take. 'A tiara? What's Link doing wearing a tiara?'  
  
Nigrowb, on the prompt reminding of her condition, began scooping tiny handfuls of water and letting them drip steadily over her forehead. 'This isn't Link, by the way.' He informed him.   
  
Sekapook looked at her, turning his head on its side several times. 'You could have fooled me!' He said. 'Who is it if it isn't him?'  
  
Suddenly, she started to groan. She turned slightly, and her eyelids twitched. Both of them went quiet and watched her in Nigrowb's arms, slowly, slowly, waking up. They were about to meet fully in a few seconds.  
  
She opened her eyes- slowly, at first, then she blinked, and they were open properly. Her eyes were a luxurious violet color. Both men were enchanted by them.  
  
She seemed slightly confused. She blinked a few times more. She leaned up and poked a hand out from her sleeve. The hand was gloved with a silky white glove. She rubbed her eyes gently with it, shook her head, and looked at the men again. She still seemed confused.  
  
'Am I seeing double?' She eventually asked. Her voice was innocent and sweet.  
  
Nigrowb and Sekapook exchanged glances, smiling. 'No. Your eyesight is fine. There are two of us.'  
  
'Oh, I'm sorry.' She apologized, smiling. 'I suppose that has happened with you quite a few times before in the past.'  
  
Sekapook smiled back, nodding yes, even though that was a lie since they haven't come across another person since they were transformed.  
  
'Are you okay, by the way?' Nigrowb asked again. 'You took quite a nasty hit to the head from those skull- crabs.'  
  
She gasped. 'You mean the Skull o' Winds? You two managed to fend them off, just to protect me?'  
  
Both men were lightly embarrassed. 'Well, not really. We sort of ran away the moment we got you.'  
  
She giggled in an adorable manner. 'You two are really quite funny. Much gentler than you look.' She looked down to the stream beside her.  
  
Nigrowb and Sekapook winced- Link had said exactly the same thing to them once before, when they were in their single, original form. If only she knew how much truth she had in what she had said.....  
  
She gasped. 'Oh! Excuse my manners! I haven't introduced properly yet.' She slowly and gently got onto her feet, and so did Nigrowb. She bowed down to them both. 'My name is Johannah.'  
  
'It is a great pleasure to meet you, Johannah. I'm.....' Nigrowb stumbled over his name- he HAD forgotten it, just like he had said. He reached up with his hand to feel for the horn on his headpiece. He felt it on the right of his head. 'I'm Nigrowb.' He looked again at Johannah, surprised to see her puzzled look. 'Sorry.' He apologized. 'It's a way for me to remember my name.'  
  
Johannah smiled politely to him. She looked a little cautious now, though.  
  
Of course, now Sekapook was saved the trouble of producing the same embarrassing action as Nigrowb did. 'I'm Sekapook.' He said. He nodded to Johannah, who also smiled to him. She seemed as though her smile was a natural part of her face. Usually with many people, it was the opposite with all the wrinkles it produced, but her face looked perfect when she did it.  
  
She turned her head to the side, contemplating on what she was going to say. She looked at both their faces in turn. 'So, are you two related to each other?' She asked out of idleness.  
  
Yet again the two men exchanged glances between themselves with a smile. 'You could say that, yes.' Sekapook told her.  
  
'Anyway, Johannah, what were you doing in the woodland area on your own?' asked Nigrowb.Johannah remembered. 'I was looking for some mushrooms for a herb I was going to brew. It's for my husband- he's been down with a terrible cold recently.''Oh?' Nigrowb perked up with interest. She's already married?'Where exactly are we?' Sekapook piped up after looking around for quite some time. He turned a blind eye to whatever appeared from the water, even when it popped up again.Johannah noticed the stream. Her eyes followed it past the waterfall, up round where it meandered behind the curve of more trees. Then she looked up, and saw the volcano. 'We're at the Zora River, near the base of Death Mountain.' She lifted her cloak slightly over the pebbles and walked in the opposite direction. 'Follow me, if you want to get to Hyrule City.'Both of them sprinted up to her and walked either side of her. 'What River?' Sekapook asked in bafflement.Johannah tittered. 'Zora River. The Zora's live here.' She looked at both from the corners of her tinted eyes. 'You.... two aren't from Hyrule, are you?''That's true.' Sekapook told her. 'We come from ISZAMI.....' At that point, Nigrowb leaned back and punched Sekapook in his muscled arm from behind her. He mouthed a profanity and rubbed his arm.'Where?' Johannah inquired.'Ummmm......' Nigrowb tried to think quickly. 'Somewhere far, far away. We don't get any visitors from Hyrule there.''Oh.' She went quiet while she walked along the edge of the riverbank. Nigrowb and Sekapook stayed behind.'Ow. What did you do that for?' Sekapook hissed.'Remember, Sekapook.' Nigrowb explained to him in whispers. 'We need to stay an enigma. None of these people are to know about our pasts, our futures and our present states. We just do our job and go.'Sekapook shrugged. 'What IS my job here? In two halves, and I haven't the foggiest idea where to go or who to meet. I don't even know how Link is killed. If he ever got the chance to be born.'Nigrowb shook his head. 'Sekapook, your mind is growing weaker already. You are talking as if you were NigSek again. Remember....''Hey you two.' Johannah stood there patiently. 'Come on, before it rains again.' She carried on walking again along the riverbank. They both followed behind her.They whispered quieter. 'Remember.' Nigrowb told Sekapook. 'We're separate from now on, for who knows how long. We mustn't go to either extremes- either thinking as NigSek, or thinking that we're nothing more than two men named Nigrowb and Sekapook.''But we still don't know what we're doing here.' Sekapook mentioned.'I know. We have to protect her.' Nigrowb pointed at Johannah from behind her. 'Protect Johannah?' Sekapook frowned. 'Why? Not to sound nasty, but once she's back home we have no concern with her anymore. Just because she LOOKS like Link........' He trailed off, and stared deeply at the back of her head, working it out.Nigrowb smiled and nodded. 'That's right, Sekapook. This woman must be........ it's Link's mother. We have to protect her, or else Link is never born.'Neither of them spoke after that conversation, only to accompany Johannah along the riverbank. After a long walk, the river passed through a small slope in the midst of some trees. It was here that there were no more round pebbles around them, and the ground returned to being muddy brown. Past the trees, they came out into more open space. The river finally finished off at a shallow pond. There was another river flowing into this pond, too- it came from the right, along the edge of the trees and from underneath a shaded alcove.Johannah looked behind her at the river that they had been following, and sighed. 'That's a shame this river is drying up fast. Nobody knows why, either.'Now that Nigrowb and Sekapook looked at it in the same light, it was smaller than it should have been. The banks of the river that passed through the trees were much wider apart than the river reached, for the water here was nothing more than a trickle into the pond. Plus, tiny stubs of trees were growing between gaps in that trickle of water. Within a few years, not only will that river stop flowing down here completely, it will be sealed off from view, too.'I would say that nobody will be able to see it from here in a couple of years time.' Nigrowb commented. Sekapook nodded in agreement.Johannah shook her head. Then she turned around and faced the open field which they were in. She walked away from the woodland area and into the lush summer green all around. There was healthy grass everywhere, plus a few fern trees dotted here and there as far as the eye could see. Nigrowb and Sekapook looked over the field, too. It was a particularly massive field as they go, and there weren't many fences stretched across it either. But overlooking this sight made both of them a little sad. It reminded them of home.'How do you like Hyrule?' Johannah commented. 'It's beautiful, isn't it?''Mmm.' Nigrowb agreed. In its own way, different to ISZAMI, it had its charm. It was certainly homely, wide- open and quiet. 'It's a lot like where we come from.' 'Really? That's a coincidence.' She politely added. 'Come on, I'll show you the City.'She led them across the field, cutting a straight line across the field and up to the path. It was much sunnier than when all three of them noticed last. In fact, the sun was beginning to set. Everything around them was turning a golden color, including the now copper sky. The fiery orb set in the sky was moving down slowly to rest behind the shade of a far- off rocky valley. Its towering jagged rocks were a contrasting black up next to the sun. It was beginning to get cooler. They reached the outer confines of a huge stone- built wall. A drawbridge spread across the width of the deep blue and murky moat. A guard stood on duty at the other end of it, looking bored.'Wait a little behind me.' Johannah said to Nigrowb and Sekapook. They did so, and walked a few feet behind her. They strolled across the drawbridge, making a wooden knocking sound on the drawbridge with their footsteps.The guard eyed her. 'Good evening, Johannah.' He nodded his head to her. 'You're looking lovelier every time I see you.'She blushed modestly. 'Why thank you, Jon.' She giggled. 'But flattery doesn't get you anywhere.'He made a funny face. 'It was worth a try.' He said back. She walked past him, off of the drawbridge.Then the guard looked serious as he spotted the two muscular men follow behind. He lifted his spear up to bar them. 'Halt.' He said with a deeper voice. He sounded a lot more intimidating. Both of the men kept their distance. Nigrowb pointed to Johannah. 'We were just....... we're with her........ following her.' He mumbled with shyness. Sekapook sort of edged behind Nigrowb, continuously nodding his head.'It's true, Jon.' Johannah called back to him. 'Let them in.'He eyed both of them, then lifted his spear. 'Enter.' He said. They quickly moved closer to Johannah off the drawbridge.Now NigSek had visited Hyrule before in the past - er, future - but only inside the castle to meet Queen Zelda. He never saw the surrounding City or Market Place. But now they were in it. Like Hyrule itself, it looked quaint and comfortable. Of course, it was evening, so it wouldn't be at its busiest time. But he was certain that it never got too unbearably busy. There was a row of potted trees along a paved path which split the Market into two halves. Even numbers of houses and stands were on either side of it. But now there were little squares of yellow in most houses, as the night closed in more. 'Come on. If you don't have a place to sleep tonight, I can get you one at the inn.' Johannah lead them to the darkness of a back alley on the left of the Marketplace. A dog was shuffling his nose through some scraps left on the ground below the overlooking extension of a tall, timber- built house, like all the others around here. The tallest of trees were visible over the tops of the roofs. It made both of them feel decidedly small, like how they first felt when they entered the City of Gold.Johannah opened the door to a house they were passing. Inside was gloomy and dark, with barely a hint of a lamp casting its light over the wooden furniture. A glum looking man leaned on his elbows, resting his head on the desk. He lifted his head when he spotted Johannah, Nigrowb and Sekapook walk in. 'Can I help you?' He asked.Johannah lifted her cloak up and reached in. Then she picked out a small cloth bag. Untying the cord, she delicately poked her fingers inside and rummaged around. She pulled out a red rupee, so rich in color it seemed to glow. 'A room for two, for the night. For these gentlemen behind me, please.''Certainly.' The man crouched down and opened a draw. He put his hand in and randomly picked out a key. He tossed it to Nigrowb. Both of them lifted their right hands to catch it. When Nigrowb grabbed it, he nodded to the man with a smile. Sekapook looked a little embarrassed. 'Try up the stairs, first room straight ahead.' The man told them.'Thank you for the room, Johannah.' They both said to her.She smiled a pretty smile again. She looked to the floor. 'No. It was the least I could do for you two. You both saved my life.' She lifted up on her toes and gave Nigrowb a perky kiss on the cheek. She then did the same to Sekapook. 'I'll see you two in the morning.' With that, she walked out of the door and closed it. It slowly opened with a creak a few seconds later, though.Nigrowb and Sekapook found their room- it wasn't hard to find, since it was the only room upstairs, which made them wonder what the other keys were for- and opened the door. A neatly made round table stood in one corner of the room, and two single, comfortable beds rested in the opposite corners up against the wall. A lamp, already alight, was on a table between the two beds. Despite being a little tatty, it was a very welcoming sight.But then, another thing had struck both of them;- 'Are these, 'beds'?' Nigrowb asked Sekapook.  
  
'You know as well as I do.' Said Sekapook in reply. He sat down on the nearest one. He sank into it slightly, and was relieved by how cushioned it was. He bounced on it mildly in a satisfying manner, which made him grin. 'It's very comfy.'  
  
'Well, goodnight.' Yawned Nigrowb. He rested down on the further bed and laid down flat. On top of the covers, and resting his head on the pillow, he sighed a happy sigh. Sekapook did the same, and also lifted a hand to turn down the gas on the lamp on the bedside table. Now, neither of them could see a thing in the completely black room.  
  
'You know, Sekapook?' Nigrowb paused, thinking slowly. 'I wonder what NigSek is doing at this time?'  
  
A long, suggestive pause. 'What do you mean?' Sekapook asked.  
  
'Well, we're in the past. And we would be alive now in ISZAMI, at the same time. I was just thinking about it.' He stared upwards towards the ceiling. Now he was beginning to see the tings in the room- very faintly, and in tones of gray, but he could make a few thing out.  
  
Sekapook considered. 'Oh yes, I had forgotten about that. No doubt we were still in our cave and eating people. After all, we only left when Link arrived.'  
  
Nigrowb turned his head to the left. 'Sekapook. Did you forget?'  
  
Silence. 'Yes, and?' He asked back.  
  
'We wouldn't recall separate things in normal life. You're losing touch of our true form. We're becoming too different from each other.'  
  
Sekapook huffed. 'Nigrowb, can you just stop going on about this 'keep in touch' thing?' He said irritably. 'One moment you say 'Remember NigSek', the next you say 'remember Sekapook.' Make up your mind!'   
  
'Yes, I know.' Nigrowb explained. 'But we must stay perfectly neutral between our original states. We can't think that we are both whole creatures, yet we cannot lose touch of the fact that we, you and I, are part of one creature.' Nigrowb leaned up onto his elbow, looking into Sekapook's general direction, towards the bed. 'If we become too separate, we think as individuals. We will have entirely individual feeling, act completely independent...... and we will remember and forget individual things.'  
  
But Sekapook was still annoyed. 'So I forgot a thing or two. That isn't enough to get into a complete stress into. We used to do it all of the time.'  
  
Nigrowb shook his head, despite the fact that Sekapook didn't see him do it. 'You see, we didn't. We were different- slightly- but not in that same sense. We would argue about decisions, or about ideas, or about petty things like, oh, which way to walk. But because we were one most of the time, we experienced the same things. We retained the same memories. We saw the same things, and did the same things in general. You're forgetting things that I remember as if it was only yesterday, because you were the irrational thinker and the action- based half of NigSek, so your actual mind was the weaker.' Nigrowb shrugged in the darkness. 'Nevertheless, I find it extremely difficult to strike this fine balance between both states. I can see myself becoming more independent in the future.'   
  
Sekapook felt a little depressed. He was seriously stressed inside of himself with the extreme self consciousness he has to bear in this period of time. And with Nigrowb's wise- as- ever- words striking the truth, he knew it wasn't going to get any easier. 'I hope we don't have to stay like this for long.'  
  
Nigrowb grimaced slightly. 'We can't even presume that for sure. We need to stay with Johannah until we can safely presume that Link's future is determined to run as normal.'  
  
Another awkward silence. 'How long might that take?' Sekapook asked slowly.  
  
This time, Nigrowb himself was stuck as to how to put it. He broke it out in a mumble. 'Months. Even years.'  
  
'I thought as much.' Sekapook said.  
  
They both didn't speak after that time. Immediately they fell to sleep.  
  
Morning arrived quickly and with ease. They both woke up, and- at the same time- rolled out of bed and got up. Neither of them slept underneath the bedsheets, and neither of them had taken off their clothing, so they had slept in their uncomfortable armor and spiked additions. Perhaps that was the reason why they felt slightly ached all over.  
  
'Still, I think I can get the hang of these beds. Even though I- er, we.' Sekapook corrected.  
  
Nigrowb shook his head. 'Never mind about that.' He said.  
  
'Even though I had never slept in a bed before.' Recalled Sekapook. 'It's nicer than the cave floor.'  
  
Nigrowb laughed. 'But then we had a nice hard shell to retract into at night.' Then Nigrowb went silent slightly.  
  
Sekapook slapped him on the back. 'Remember your own words, Nigrowb. Don't just give advice, follow it.'  
  
Then Nigrowb lifted his head and remembered; 'Hey, we need to find Johannah. She never said where she lived.'  
  
That notion struck Sekapook as well. 'Won't she come back to the inn to visit us?'  
  
'I don't know. She might have just left us here as payment for saving her and completely forgotten about us.' He scratched his head lightly.  
  
Sekapook shrugged. 'Still, we'd better find her anyway.' He walked from the side of his bed up to the door. It was fairly well lit in the room, since there was a thin window in the wall opposite the two beds. At nighttime neither of them had spotted it.  
  
Leaving the beds as they were, both of them walked single file down the corridor up to the stairs. There was a row of thin panes of glass in the wall to their right. Out of this, they could overlook a pleasant courtyard with great bushy trees, that almost concealed a small square of grass down below.  
  
Down the stairs they walked, making a 'tap tap' noise on the planks of wood all the way down. They arrived in the warm, dark lobby of the inn. The inn owner, still at the counter, was leaning on his upright arm rapping his fingers on the wooden counter. He nodded at Nigrowb and Sekapook when they appeared. 'Hope you enjoyed the stay.' He mumbled semi- politely.  
  
'We did, thank you.' Nigrowb answered for both of them.  
  
They walked over to the door and opened it. They had forgotten that the inn was located in a back alley, so their departure to the outdoors was barred by a great gritted stone wall. It was cool and damp, but they looked up and saw the clear blue sky, and no clouds.  
  
'Looks like a nice day.' Commented Sekapook.  
  
'We should get to the center of the city before we presume that.' Nigrowb marched down the alleyway to the right. This was a simple alley - there was only 2 directions to go, and they both curved around to reach the town center. The direction Nigrowb was going was bathed in morning light, pouring through to reach this far into the alley.  
  
They both turned the corner, and were indeed surprised. Now they were in the Hyrule Marketplace - in daytime. It was certainly busier than they had thought! People of fantastic dresses and suits pranced around, others talked and laughed, great bustling groups of people crowded tiny stands buying things, and guards stood around the place keeping an eye out for people. A mulling noise of conversation was emitted from the Marketplace, and, from somewhere neither Nigrowb or Sekapook could determine, a choir was playing a typical twee melody.  
  
Of course, it never occurred to either of them, or to NigSek, that this is the atmosphere, and the lifestyle, of Link's actual relatives. They were in HIS land now, in an actual lively village. And being in human form, they could enjoy it even more. He would know more about Link's lifestyle than even Link himself knew. If they recalled correctly from one of Link's many tales, he was an orphan and never knew his parents, only his uncle. But where his parents went, he never knew...  
  
Something bumped into Nigrowb's leg. He looked down, and saw a little girl. She sat on the floor, wiping her eyes. She made lonely sobbing noises, slowly wailing.  
  
Nigrowb bent down and placed an arm over her shoulder. 'Hello little lady. What's wrong?' He asked her sympathetically.  
  
Her face was red and her eyes watery. She was sniffling a lot when the lifted her head to look at him. She was dressed in a nice little light blue dress with a miniature apron on the front. She had a bow in her hair, too, which matched the color of her dress. Another thing which caught his attention, bizarrely, was a little doll which she carried in a pouch on her apron, hanging out of the top. It was pink and egg- shaped, with a face and downward curling strands of hair. It seemed to have a pouch of its own, too, which also contained an egg. Quite why it caught his eye, he didn't know.  
  
'Hello.' Nigrowb said again. This time he was staring straight into her big, wide green eyes, full of tears. This way he could attain her trust. 'Why are you crying?'  
  
She let a tear drop down her red cheek. 'I was..... I was running after my dog, and now she's gone. And I.... I can't find him.......' She sniffled uncontrollably now. She looked as if she was going to explode into tears.  
  
But Nigrowb was, well, embarrassed. A...... dog? He had never seen one of those before. He looked up to Sekapook for help (as if he would know either) but he had already gone strolling around the market place. He was admiring all the stalls of fruit and clothing.  
  
He looked once again at the little girl. 'Don't worry. We'll help you find your ....dog.' He stood up on his feet, still with his head down. He held a hand to the little girl's hand, smiling down to her. Nervously she took it. He lifted her up to her feet, whereupon she wiped the back of her dress clean of loose dirt.  
  
'You're very nice, mister. Thank you for helping me.' The girl remarked with great politeness.  
  
Nigrowb glanced down to her. 'That's quite alright my dear. Now, do you know which way you saw your dog go?'  
  
She put a finger to her mouth, thinking. 'Mmmmmmmmmm......' She thought carefully. After a while, she pointed. 'That way, I think, mister.' She pointed to the largest, busiest, most crowded stand visible. In fact, the occasional item of clothing would be thrown out of the top of it, to land back down on someone's head.  
  
'We'll look there first.' Nigrowb turned to where he last saw Sekapook wander off to. 'Hey, Sekapook, come back here!' He called in the general direction. Immediately Sekapook marched out from the center of the crowd, up to Nigrowb.  
  
The little girl stared with wide eyes at them two. She giggled. 'You two look like the same man!' She commented.   
  
Nigrowb and Sekapook looked at each other again, just to remind themselves what they looked like, and looked at the little girl. 'We're related.' Said Nigrowb.  
  
'That's right.' Added Sekapook.  
  
Now the little girl tittered. 'You two even SOUND the same!' She laughed.  
  
'I don't sound like him. He's nothing like me!' Sekapook said angrily.  
  
Nigrowb looked at him irritated. 'You can't say that! We're twins!'  
  
'But you sound like a complete idiot! I don't sound like a complete idiot!' Sekapook yelled.  
  
Nigrowb slapped him around the face. Sekapook reached for his neck and throttled it hard. Nigrowb's eyes bulged, and he was going red. He tried kicking Sekapook in the shins.  
  
Now the little girl was rolling on the floor laughing. She wasn't in the least bit worried about her lovely dress being covered in dirt. 'You two are so funny!' She sighed, before laughing again. Her face was broken into a glorious smile, full of clean white teeth. She was quite pretty for her age.  
  
Immediately Nigrowb and Sekapook stopped arguing. They looked again at the little girl, who had completely forgotten about her problem at hand, enjoying the sight of their bickering. They let go of each other, ashamed of their actions. They were supposed to be a good influence to her. 'Well, shall we try and find your dog?' Nigrowb asked finally, to get back on subject.  
  
The little girl remembered what she was doing, and sobered up a bit. 'Okay, mister.' She wiped her dress again of dirt, to look a little more presentable. 'Before she gets into trouble again.'  
  
Nigrowb frowned. 'Again? Do you mean he's been lost before?'  
  
'She's been lost before. Her name's Lucy. I named her myself.' She looked a little coy.  
  
'That reminds me, young lady. What's your name?'   
  
' my name is Lucy. I named my dog after me.'  
  
Sekapook shrugged. 'Why not.' He murmured. Secretly, he was beginning to be a little impatient. Neither of them could see Johannah, and they had far better things to do than to talk to this girl.  
  
'Well anyway.' Nigrowb started again. 'How have you found him before?'  
  
'Usually my best friend finds her. She's very nice. Do you want to meet her?' Before another word was said, she ran off into the crowd.  
  
Nigrowb rolled his eyes, tutting. He followed her into the crowd, and Sekapook followed Nigrowb.  
  
She sneaked in underneath everyone easily enough, but for the two strongly- built men it was slightly more hazardous. They forged through the people, constantly aware of the frequent arm reaching out to grab something. It was ridiculous, this quarrel for the stand, but he wasn't in the right mood to argue this point to them- he had no right. They're residents here, and he was not, and if this was what they do every day, then let it stay like that. But it was still a nuisance.  
  
They traced the path that Lucy ran along, but it was lost within a few seconds of them trying. Eventually they had to rely on her occasional cry of 'Here Lucy!' through the bustling noise of buyers and market owners shouting their bargains out, which wasn't easy. It was a great smell of fresh fruit and fish from the market, which got right up both of their noses with an almost stinging sensation. Their noses had become much more sensitive during the transformation, and they weren't ready for these new experiences. But still they forged through, in the direction that Lucy ran down.  
  
Nigrowb was still passing through crowds of people. This was far busier than he first perceived it to be - ridiculously so. But he still carried on, and eventually he broke out of the wall of people that made up the outside of the crowd. Sekapook was following him, but he was being pushed towards the center of the crowd. Nigrowb couldn't help him much, but Sekapook would manage by himself.  
  
Nigrowb turned his head to face forward. He was surprised to see a woman standing there, bent down and rubbing a little animal's head. The animal was wagging its scruffy little tail in delight, and would on occasions jump up onto her dress.  
  
As she raised her head in laughter, playing with the little animal, Nigrowb recognized who it was - it was her. 'Johannah!' Nigrowb called out to her. He strolled up to her to talk to her.  
  
She noticed him walk up to her. 'Oh hello, it's you.' She said cheerfully. She brushed back a few draping strands of hair which had fallen down across her face. She broadened her smile to a lovely red crescent on her face. 'How was your night?'  
  
'Oh, fine.' Nigrowb replied. 'I slept like a rock last night.'  
  
She giggled timidly. 'I'm glad to hear that.' She was silent for a minute, then looked over Nigrowb's shoulder. Sekapook walked up behind Nigrowb to join him, and they both looked at her with an interested gaze.  
  
'So what exactly are you two doing in Hyrule, anyway?' She asked.  
  
'Us?' Nigrowb said in surprise. 'We're, um.... We were sent to, er.......... To protect someone.' He told her.  
  
'Oh really?' She sounded pleasantly interested. 'Who would that be?'  
  
Before Nigrowb could answer, or needed to answer, they heard a little girl cry out at the top of her voice. 'Lucy!'  
  
Sekapook looked behind him. He saw Lucy run out from the crowd, past all three of them, and up to the little animal. She put her hands either side of its face and ruffled its fur up. 'You found my dog! Thank you Johannah!'  
  
Oh. So THAT'S what a dog was! Nigrowb and Sekapook kept that in mind - already they were learning new things.  
  
'You always keep losing your dog, Lucy.' Johannah jokingly complained. 'Do you think you should put a lead on her?'  
  
Nigrowb watched the little scruffy dog jump up to Lucy's lap. She was knelt on the floor, and she wrapped her arms around her. The dog was licking Lucy's face in a frenzied manner, the little girl laughing.   
  
He bent down to stroke the little dog on the head. Immediately the dog scrambled uncomfortably in Lucy's arms. It backed away from him, snarling. Nigrowb nervously declined away.  
  
'My dog doesn't like you very much, mister.' Lucy commented.  
  
Johannah looked at Lucy from above her. 'Now Lucy, don't be too rude to Sekrowb. He saved my life yesterday, you know.'  
  
Lucy suddenly looked up at her. 'He saved your life?' She exclaimed in a child- like manner. 'What happened?'  
  
Suddenly, a couple of soldiers ran up towards the market center. They were white with shock, and out of breath. 'Everyone! EVERYONE!' One shouted.  
  
'HEY!!' The other yelled at the top of his voice. All of the people stared at them. From what Nigrowb and Sekapook could see, this guard looked like Jon, the guard they met the other night.  
  
Now he got all attention focused on him, he resumed his worrying news. 'We need to get into our homes! It's another attack! Go into your homes!'  
  
Nigrowb, Sekapook, Johannah and Lucy were all shocked.  
  
TRAINER  
  
Another man ran up towards Johannah. Immediately she ran up to him. 'Darling, what's wrong?' She asked, worried.  
  
The guard shook his head. He was well armored, and had a strong jaw bone, from the looks of his face. His chin was almost like an anvil. He was dressed in a cape, and was kitted with a sword buckle and shield which were strapped to his back. 'It's the Tamorans again. Only a few of them. You'd better get home.' He took his eyes off of Johannah for a moment, and they rested on the two orange- haired men. He lifted an eyebrow. 'And these two are...?'  
  
'I'm Nigrowb.' Sekapook introduced himself.  
  
'I'm Sekapook.' Nigrowb did the same. Then they both rubbed their heads with their hands. They had messed up again.  
  
He lifted one corner of his mouth in a valid attempt to smile. 'So you're the two men who saved my wife, eh?'  
  
'Yes, that's right.' Johannah agreed. 'These are the brave men who saved me.' She looked at Nigrowb and Sekapook in turn. 'Both of you, this is my husband. Say hello to Valser Ruth.'  
  
'Hello Valser Ruth.' Sekapook greeted. He held his hand to him, and it was met with Ruth's vice- like grip. He matched it's grip equally though, and shook his hand vigorously. Nigrowb did the same afterwards.  
  
'Well I would have liked to meet acquaintances for longer, but I'm afraid we have a crisis on our hands.' Valser apologized. He was well spoken and had a deep, manly voice.   
  
As he turned away to run up to the other guards, both of the men spoke up again; 'We can help you if you need our help.'  
  
Valser stopped. Standing there and considering, he eventually shrugged. 'Why not? Do you know how to use a weapon, either of you?'  
  
'We could learn.' Sekapook mocked dryly.  
  
Valser sighed. He continued walking up to the standing guards, with Nigrowb and Sekapook following close behind. They soon approached two of the standing guards there. 'Jon, where does it look like they will strike?' Valser asked the guard.  
  
The guard lifted the rim of his helmet to see better. His eyes were completely shaded. 'From what we can see, they'll attack the normal way; through the drawbridge.'  
  
'Hey!' A far- off voice called out. Jon, Valser, Nigrowb and Sekapook glanced up at the window of a tower, along the outer walls of the town. They spotted the fat guard wave at them, and pointing to the outside of the town towards Hyrule Field. 'It's the Tamorans. They're splitting up into little groups!'  
  
Valser gritted his teeth- this was bad. 'Keep the guards at their posts, soldier!' He yelled to the lookout guard. He quickly turned to the other three men. 'You three are with me. At the drawbridge.' He addressed Jon. 'Give these men some weapons- anything you can find.'  
  
'Right away, sir.' Jon disappeared from sight. A few minutes later, and some impatient foot- tapping from Valser, the guard returned. He was carrying a mace and a pike.   
  
Nigrowb took the pike, and Sekapook grabbed the mace. Both of them inspected their weapons for a few seconds. Sekapook, in particular, smiled gleefully at the sight of all the spikes jutting out of the ball- and- chain end of his mace. 'I'm happy.' He said with a gluttonous smile.  
  
'Then we'd better take our position.' Valser concluded.  
  
The four men ran up to the open drawbridge. It was looking outwards to the lush green field ahead, with the still clear blue sky above. A cloud was floating over them, partially blocking out the sun. It looked like the scene for a pleasant summer day. But it was silent. No birds were singing. No bees or flies in the air. It was all deathly silent. The four men waited there in anticipation. All the other guards along the walls stood watching.  
  
Nigrowb and Sekapook looked at Valser. He pursed his lips, staring unblinking into the field. There was something even more terrifying in the waiting for danger, knowing it was approaching, than the actual terror in view. Neither of them knew what a Tamoran was, but they would get a good view when these... creatures, came over the low hill. The drawbridge was still open.  
  
Wait a minute........ 'Valser.' Nigrowb started. 'Hasn't it occurred to you to close the drawbridge?'  
  
'That is what it's there for.' Sekapook added.  
  
Valser chuckled to himself. 'You two really aren't from around here, are you? Do you even know what a Tamoran is?'  
  
'No.' Nigrowb and Sekapook both admitted.  
  
'Very well. A Tamoran can climb walls with the greatest of ease. In fact, they're more dangerous from vertical surfaces than on the ground. Believe me, we're in a safer position here than the guards up on the-'  
  
'THEY'RE HERE!' A guard screamed. Then two pincer- like arms reached over and pulled him off the wall. The guard screamed with limbs waving in the air. Three other guards ran up to where he was, poking weapons at whatever repulsive creature was attacking. The guards were grunting and yelling as they stuck their weapons into it, before another guard was pulled off the side. Nigrowb and Sekapook stared in horror, but Valser and Jon watched with expectancy- they had seen this happen a hundred times before.   
  
Then they all heard a hissing sound from the drawbridge. Jon looked - and was tackled by an animal. He was pushed along the ground by the monster. He yelped, but was already pinned to the ground.  
  
Valser spun around quickly, and saw a monster on the drawbridge. Nigrowb and Sekapook looked as well. What seemed to resemble a giant beetle was poised, looking at them. It had a huge, tooth- filled mouth and two great strong forelegs. The mouth was foaming around the rim, and it was drooling with spittle. Two eyes - one above the mouth, one below - contracted for a second.  
  
Valser unsheathed his sword and pulled his shield out. 'You two help that guard over there!' He yelled. 'Don't just stand there and gawk!' He ran for the Tamoran.  
  
Both Nigrowb and Sekapook immediately faced the Tamoran above Jon. He was screaming for mercy, although the Tamoran was just drooling over him. Nigrowb raised his pike, and Sekapook spun his mace around above his head. But as they saw the Tamoran, it seemed to be balancing over the guard with his hind feet over his back, which looked strange.  
  
Suddenly, the Tamoran turned and faced the two. His eyes focused on Sekapook, and he stepped over the guard, who scrambled away with his spear. The Tamoran hissed at them, blowing froth everywhere. He crouched down towards the ground. Sekapook was ready to fling down his shining mace at him.  
  
The Tamorans two hind legs curled up from behind him and lashed out at Sekapook. He stopped in his tracks, leaning back to avoid the clawed hands swinging at him. They narrowly missed, but Sekapook fell down onto his back. He stared up again at the Tamoran, now clearly boasting his other limbs. They now reached out for him, sheathing his claws.   
  
Quite how this creature kept its balance, Nigrowb thought, he didn't know. But he was overlooking Sekapook from above him, prepared to attack. He charged side- on at the Tamoran, brandishing his spear. He forced it right into the Tamoran's side. The shell cracked greatly, and the Tamoran hissed more. He leapt away, flipping over to his back. He landed on the two rear legs.  
  
Nigrowb held his hand out to Sekapook, who took it. Nigrowb pulled him up to his feet. 'Thanks.' He said.  
  
But the Tamoran wasn't through yet. Still on his hind legs, and theoretically upside down, he reared up with his muscular forelegs flailing in the air. Spinning them around with a cracking sound, they now turned completely around. It was standing on two feet, towering over them, with two muscular legs arched over them. Its face still looked symmetrical, with an eye on opposite sides of his toothed mouth.  
  
'What the hell IS this thing?' Sekapook exclaimed. Both of them edged away from the Tamoran when it took a step forward.  
  
Sekapook swung his mace around again, and threw it at the Tamoran's reaching arm. The Tamoran grabbed the spiked ball of the mace, and yanked it from Sekapook. He kept a hold of it and was pulled closer to the thing. With two hands on the mace, Sekapook put his boot in the Tamoran's face and kicked himself away. The Tamoran was forced away slightly, balancing precariously from the two men. Waving his arms in the air, the Tamoran started to overbalance onto his back. He rolled over, with his arms and legs flailing in the air.  
  
But it turned its two forelegs around again to reach the ground, and it waddled around to face Nigrowb and Sekapook.. It crouched down, readying a jump.  
  
This was really annoying Nigrowb. He stared at the spider- like creature with a growing rage, and he felt a fiery instinct burn within them. He clenched his pike tighter, and he felt the handle of it grow in heat within his very hands. They edged closer to the Tamoran brandishing their weapons, but what Nigrowb could see was the metallic parts of the pike were now bright red.  
  
'Here I come!' Jon called out. But as he was running up to them after much delay, he slowed down. And watched with surprise.  
  
Nigrowb leapt at the Tamoran, thrusting his pike at its shell. The Tamoran was about to jump on instincts, but he struck too readily. The pike moved so quickly in the air that it flashed red. The spiked end made contact with the hard shell of the creature, and exploded. It was such an impact that bits of its body flew everywhere. Fortunately, there wasn't much blood if any, but fragments of shell bounced and scattered everywhere. Nigrowb finished off with his pike scraping at the pavement. A light cloud of smoke lifted upward slowly from where the Tamoran made his last stand. Nigrowb knelt there, breathing heavily.  
  
Jon was completely taken back. 'H- h- how did you do that?' He stuttered.  
  
Both of them looked back at the guard, then realized what had happened and what he had just witnessed. They were a little stuck for words, for they didn't know where it had come from either. Nigrowb began to shuffle his feet in embarrassment.  
  
'Well, that wasn't too bad.' Valser concluded. He walked up from behind the two men, and everyone looked at him. Evidently, he had dispatched the Tamoran, but he had a few scratch marks over his armored chestplate. 'The others pulled away from the attack. They've left Hyrule town for now.'  
  
'Sir.' Jon began. 'Is it my imagination, or are these attacks increasing in number? The last wave was only two days ago.'  
  
Valser looked at the guard. 'Yes we know that, but it hasn't been bought to the attention of the King just yet.' He then held his chin and thought carefully. 'Perhaps it should be made aware of today, before it gets dramatically worse. If the same thing is happening to the other races of Hyrule.....'  
  
Nigrowb and Sekapook waited impatiently. They looked around the walls of the town, and at the guards who had returned to their places. It seemed to have ended as quickly and discreetly as it had begun. But, there were fewer guards up on patrol now than before the attack. In fact, there were very, very few guards on patrol altogether. It certainly didn't feel safe, knowing that the whole town is being guarded by only a few men.  
  
Jon cleared his throat. 'Sir, a word please. It's important.' He whispered. He nudged his head in Nigrowb and Sekapook's direction.  
  
'Very well.' Valser lead the guard away from the other two, further across the plaza of the now empty marketplace.   
  
'What is it, private?' Valser prompted.  
  
'Well, it's about those two men.' Jon glanced quickly back to the waiting pair. 'I have a suspicion that they may be more than what you think.'  
  
Valser looked puzzled. 'Carry on.'   
  
Jon continued. 'When they were fighting the Tamoran, they lacked a concrete fighting skill. Yet I saw with my own eyes one of them utterly destroy the animal in one hit.'  
  
'One hit?' Valser looked doubtful. 'How?'  
  
'They all of a sudden became enraged, and one man leapt at the Tamoran brandishing his weapon. But his weapon burned the very air it was in when he lashed it down. The pike became fiery hot, and the Tamoran just.... Exploded.'  
  
'Exploded?'  
  
Jon nodded. 'Just like that. In front of my very eyes.'  
  
Valser looked at the two men. They both simultaneously smiled great beaming smiles back at him. He then looked back at Jon. 'So what do you propose I should do about it?'  
  
Jon coughed. 'Well, you're the higher ranking officer. It's not really my place to tell you what for.' He averted his gaze to his spear. 'However, it might be a valuable investment if you were to train them yourselves, in the art of combat.'  
  
Valser thought again. 'I owe them a favor for saving my wife. Perhaps......' He nodded his head, and slapped Jon on the back. 'Very well. Back to your post, private.'  
  
Jon took a few steps backwards from Valser, then he turned around and marched off to the drawbridge. Nigrowb and Sekapook watched him walk off.  
  
Then Valser walked up to them. He put an arm around the shoulders of each one, so he leaned between the two. 'Gentlemen, how would you like to be taught how to fight properly?'  
  
This struck Nigrowb and Sekapook with similar surprise. They weren't sure whether to feel insulted or pleased. But the idea of raising their fighting skills, in the light of their fairly clumsy fight with the Tamoran, sounded appealing. 'Why not?' Nigrowb said.  
  
'I could go along with it.' Sekapook said.  
  
'I'll take you to training this time tomorrow. I need to arrange some spare time before we can begin.' He strolled between the two men, off away from the Market place. People who had left the area when the Tamorans attacked began to flood in again. Stands were being occupied again, and the general area was filling up. Soon, neither of them would have heard anything over the shouting, had they stayed there longer.  
  
A thought had struck Sekapook. Their training would be tomorrow, so they would need to stay somewhere for another night- and neither of them had any money. 'Um, Valser. Do you know where we could get any money from?'  
  
Valser lifted his head to him. 'Money? What for?'  
  
Nigrowb realized what they needed money for as well. 'We have no place to stay for the night. Johannah paid for a hotel room last night.'  
  
Valser now tilted his head to Nigrowb. 'She didn't, did she?' He huffed, shaking his head. 'Those rooms cost a rupee and a half. Why didn't she ask for you to stay at our place?'  
  
'At your place?' Nigrowb asked rhetorically. 'Oh no, we couldn't ask for you to- '  
  
'I'd love to stay at your place.' Sekapook agreed happily.  
  
'Okay, then.' Valser led them further down some alleys. As he did so, Nigrowb poked Sekapook hard in the shoulder, behind Valser. Sekapook scowled back.  
  
They had met Johannah (again), had an evening meal of anything they could find in their cupboards, and spent most of the evening telling stories to each other. Valser told stories about dragons and witches and elves and fairies, and of mythological folklore passed on by word of mouth throughout Hyrule. He also bought up about the strange fire- breathing Dodongos which used to populate Death Mountain, before they died out in numbers, though it is often said that a few enormous ones can infrequently be spotted there.   
  
Then Valser finished. 'So tell us a bit about where you two come from, then.' He urged, directing it to Nigrowb and Sekapook.   
  
But they were a little nervous. 'Us?' They said.  
  
'Yes. Surely there must be some great legends you have heard of before in your homeland.'  
  
Nigrowb whispered in Sekapook's ear for a few seconds. Sekapook smiled from the corner of his mouth. 'There is one legend we know of.' He brought up. 'It's about a young male hero, and a young female hero, and many more....'  
  
They spent their share of the storytelling evening talking about the legend of the Angels Four. Obviously, they had to change a few minor details around- now, Link had become 'Knil', Knil and Mentia both came from Kench, and Nigrowb and Sekapook were villagers who they stumbled across in their travels. Plus, it ended with Knil and Mentia marrying and setting off to Kench, happily ever after. But it went through their dragons, and witches and faeries and- well, no elves, but the Strange were small enough.  
  
They were both enthralled. 'Wow.' Johannah commented with an air of admiration.   
  
Valser had to leave soon after they finished the story for his evening shift, but they both said goodnight to Johannah before she showed them to their room and slept the night. They had a much more comfortable night, because they had now considered taking a few of their plates of armor off before they rested.  
  
The next day, they had arranged to begin training within the castle grounds at Hyrule Castle. It was the only appropriate place they could be taught, since Johannah never felt at ease whenever Valser brought up the notion of 'training at home'. He met Nigrowb and Sekapook at home, and bought them to the grounds of the castle. He explained to the guards their purpose of being here, so they basically went in unhampered. They walked through several corridors, all lined with windows overlooking many different flowery courtyards, until eventually they walked outside again.  
  
They were now in a large, clear open space. Soldiers were out here holding weapons. Some were hacking blocks of wood with double- handed swords, spraying a fine cloud of sawdust into the air. Some were training with archery practice, lining up with their arrows cocked and facing a line of painted targets, and firing them off with remarkable accuracy. Some were practicing their defensive skills in pairs using sticks, making a clacking noise with every hit of their sticks together. There were many other different items and objects being practiced on, all with a different variety of weapons. Along the outside of the area, people stood and watched. It was to these people that they were being lead to.  
  
'We need to make the training administrator and head of Hylian defense aware of the reason you two are here.' Valser told Nigrowb and Sekapook. They came closer to the two men standing there, tall and straight as the men were training. Their attention promptly moved to the three men approaching them.   
  
'That man.' Sekapook whispered, nervously.   
  
'I know.' Nigrowb whispered back. 'And I have a feeling who it might be.'  
  
What had attracted their attention was the taller, darker man. A man who looked to be in his mid- twenties, he had a dull black suit of armor on, embraced with decorative cloth and light brown markings around the waist area. His hair was a great flourish of orange hair curled back behind his hair. He had an ominous looking amulet tied to his forehead, and he watched the men with an evil, cold stare, down the length of his long nose. The other man was a round, tubby soldier, with a piggy nose and a squint. His arms were flabby and greasy, and he had them crossed behind his back. But, it was the first man that alarmed Nigrowb and Sekapook the most.  
  
'Can this be... him?' Nigrowb murmured.  
  
Valser walked up to the tubby man. 'Colonel Adeel?' He nodded to the tubby man. Adeel nodded back. He rolled his hand up into a fist and held it to his mouth, then coughed into it. His cheeks wobbled when he did it.  
  
Then he side- stepped to the other man. 'General Ganondorf?' He nodded to him. Ganondorf just stared at him with a deep seriousness on his face. He stood at a fair height, too.  
  
Nigrowb and Sekapook gasped. 'It IS him.' Sekapook murmured back. 'The man Link killed.'  
  
Ganondorf looked at the two men. He lowered his head to gaze at them from under his eyebrows, which made him look even more intimidating. They began to get very cold, and shaky.  
  
Valser cleared his throat. 'These are the two men I asked permission for yesterday to allow in the castle training grounds for combat practice.' He gestured a hand to the two men, standing side by side and looking exactly the same. In fact, before they introduced themselves they put a hand up to their helmet to confirm who exactly they were- they hadn't referred to each other's names for a while, and neither did anyone else, so they needed to remember.  
  
After an unusual look from Valser, Adeel and Ganondorf, the two men held hands out to the two army men. 'Greetings. I'm Nigrowb.' Nigrowb told Adeel, shaking his hand. It felt slightly sweaty.  
  
'I'm Sekapook.' Sekapook told Ganondorf, holding a hand out to him. Ganondorf didn't accept it, and Sekapook took it back, slightly embarrased.  
  
Adeel coughed again, wobbling his flabby cheeks, and pointed a chubby finger to an open area behind the three men. 'We saved you a space for your own personal training. It is under your supervision that these two men will be placed, so it will be your responsibility for any injuries.'  
  
'I agree to that policy.' And so, a highly professional agreement finished in a few words. Valser turned away from the two men, and Adeel carried on watching the other soldiers train.   
  
But Ganondorf had locked eyes with Nigrowb. Nigrowb began to walk away, to the direction where their private space was, but he still looked at the man's face, into his eyes, his terrible, chilly stare piercing him like a dagger. He even felt a tiny bead of sweat trickle down his forehead. It was frightening just to imagine how terrifying this man's stare was. It was unnatural.  
  
Sekapook grabbed Nigrowb by his arm, and lead him away. Nigrowb broke the gaze and Ganondorf continued watching the other fighters.  
  
'That man is evil.' Nigrowb shuddered.  
  
'Do you think he is the reason we are here? I mean, was he the one that....'  
  
'No.' Nigrowb whispered, shaking his head. 'He is merely here in his own time, during his own business. He will still meet his doom, later in his lifetime.'  
  
'Oh. But we should still stay wary of him.' Sekapook whispered back.  
  
'Right.' Nigrowb agreed.  
  
Valser overheard them talking. 'Do you have anything of interest to say.' He commanded, sounding like a lecturer in the process.  
  
They looked at him. 'No no, no.' Sekapook said. 'Just..... chatting.'  
  
'Do you know anything about that man...... Ganondorf?' Nigrowb asked Valser.  
  
They reached their allocated space. Valser continued walking, up to a neatly arranged stack of weapons. It was embellished with the regular pikes, spears, swords, maces and arrow quivers, plus a few unusual types- metallic boomerangs, throwing knives, and a few others.  
  
'We shall practice using staffs first, to begin with the art of defense.' He bent down to the rack, lined with weaponry of many different kinds, and picked up three sticks. He chucked one to each man, and they both grabbed it and held it in their hands.  
  
'Right.' Valser began. 'I shall henceforth be your trainer, whatever weapon you use. I am the Hylian Army's top practitioner with weapons of all kind, although the single- handed sword is my strongest element.' He crouched into more of a fighting stance, holding his stick up. 'Now one of you- charge at me.'  
  
Nigrowb and Sekapook exchanged glances with each other. Sekapook shrugged, and he held his staff like a spear, pointing one end at Valser. He broke out into a run, charging towards the soldier.  
  
The soldier dodged to the side, flicked one end at Sekapook's head, and fell him to the ground. He landed with a soft thump on the grassy surface, being worn down to hard mud over years of training, so it wasn't exactly a comfortable landing. Sekapook moaned.  
  
Valser looked up to Nigrowb, and he raised an eyebrow. 'Your turn?'  
  
Nigrowb, the one who thinks more than he acts, stepped in with a little more caution. He walked carefully to him, holding the stick aloft.  
  
But Valser twisted his staff upwards from underneath Nigrowb's, removing it from his grasp. After a wild spin through the air it collided with the inner wall of the castle with a clatter, then thumped to the ground.  
  
Valser lunged at Nigrowb, holding his staff up to his neck. 'Nice try. I commend you more thoughtful approach.' He said. 'But you need to be as offensive as defensive'. Satisfied in proving how useless both of them were with weapons for the meantime, he stepped away and strolled towards the fallen staff. He picked it up and chucked it back to Nigrowb. Sekapook scrambled to his feet and stood alongside him, watching Valser.  
  
Perhaps Valser might not have been so cocky had he known what either of their true forms were! Nigrowb (and Sekapook alike) could just imagine the look on his face if he had to try this kind of technique on a huge, spiny- shelled, four- armed fire breathing monster, with enough strength to crush him with one grip. But of course, that could never be shown to him, because it wasn't possible. If they were to return to normal, then they would have to return to their real time - and that would mean, mission failed, they would perish. So, they would have to handle the situation as best as they could, in these human forms. Which Valser was attempting to help them with now.  
  
So they got into a fighting position again. Sekapook made the first move again. He jumped to Valser, holding the staff tighter, and forcing it downwards. Valser parried it with a similar move to before, and they hit each other with a clacking noise. Valser brought the other end around down on him, and Sekapook parried it with his staff, held above his head. Again, they hit with a clack. Again, Valser moved, and again Sekapook was counter- attacking.   
  
He was getting the hang of this. It was a natural movement, what they were doing. The matching of each others attacks, with a movement opposite to that of the other person, was remarkably preplanned, almost routine. There was no point in trying to 'out- speed' the opponent with a simple faster execution. You had to try something totally by surprise, which breaks the routine attacks you build up to. The more times your attacks are matched by the other person, the less prepared he will be for the surprise move. It was all very clever.  
  
'Dragmire.'  
  
Sekapook paused. 'Eh?'   
  
Then he felt a soft crack to the side of his head. He fell to his side, onto the floor. That hit sneaked in by surprise, and made his head hurt.  
  
'Oh. Sorry about that.' Valser apologized. He bent down and offered his hand to Sekapook. Sekapook took it, and pulled himself up to his feet, balancing on his staff.   
  
'What's Dragmire?' Sekapook asked, rubbing his sore head. It was beginning to swell slightly, though there was no blood.  
  
'You mean, WHO's Dragmire?' He corrected him. 'Ganondorf Dragmire. That's the man you asked about.'  
  
'Oh, right.'  
  
Nigrowb perked up in interest. 'What about him?' He asked.  
  
Valser checked to see if anyone was looking in his direction, then bent down slightly to explain more.  
  
'He is a Gerudo Leader. He comes from the desert region, and arrived in Hyrule only a few years ago. He swears allegiance to the King, and the King deemed him worthy of a high promotion to General of the Hylian army.'  
  
'Why? Is he a good fighter?'  
  
Valser shrugged. 'Many people have reported of his unimaginably good talents, but I myself have yet to see him in action. Besides......' He stood straight, and looked in Ganondorf and Adeel's direction. Then he lowered down, and his voice dropped in volume. 'I hear he has a distinct pact with black magic.'  
  
Sekapook and Nigrowb knew that in the first place. They also knew that he tries to overthrow Hyrule- twice-, kill the Hylian King, transform into the King of Thieves known as Ganon, and finally to end his life at the hands of Link. Perhaps they knew more about him than even Valser did. But they kept their ignorance for the time being, to make it more interesting. 'Carry on.' Sekapook calmly urged.  
  
'Well... ummm...' He paused to think. 'Nobody knows anything else about his life- he keeps most of it an utmost secret, since he very rarely talks freely to people. I'm sure you could agree with me on that point.'  
  
Sekapook and Nigrowb accepted this. But they were fairly lucky, for they were experiencing Link's past, long before Link had experienced it. They had come within a few inches of perhaps Hyrule's most evil and cruel man, and only they knew that fact for absolute certain.  
  
He also looked very different from most men around here. Not only because of his armor, or hair, or gothic look, but very little things- even his ears, which they could see from here when they looked, were round instead of the Hylian's classical pointed ears. 'Where does he come from?' Nigrowb asked, again.  
  
'He's from the Gerudo Desert, East of Hyrule.' Valser saw their slightly puzzled looks on their faces. He then remembered. 'Of course. I forgot that you two don't come from Hyrule. I should have remembered that in the first place.'  
  
Nigrowb and Sekapook, understanding of his forgetful memory, looked a little happier. 'That's alright.' Replied Nigrowb.   
  
Valser, who had now forgotten completely their training, began to move around again. 'Right. Carry on with the defense techniques you should be building on.' He spun his staff around above his head, and clamped it tightly in his hands. He stood his ground.  
  
Sekapook beckoned Nigrowb to stand up. He moved towards Valser, poised in a standing position similar to him. Their eyes were focused solely on each other.  
  
Nigrowb lunged at Valser, swinging his staff again at him, as if it was a double- handed sword. Valser dodged backwards, and Nigrowb tripped. He fell on his face in the dirt. Again.   
  
Valser groaned. 'Look.' He said, slightly irritated. 'You are meant to be on DEFENSE. That means you STAY as you are and FEND ME OFF!' He pulled Nigrowb up to his hands and knees by the arm, and he righted himself, brushing the loose dust off of him. He stared up to see his shaking, huffing face.  
  
As he watched Nigrowb walk to behind Sekapook, he asked more questions. 'What exactly are you two doing, anyway? In Hyrule? You never actually explained that part of it to us last night.'  
  
Nigrowb considered this question for a while. He didn't want to answer 'nothing, really.' Because he might arouse too much, unwanted attention if he kept saying that. 'We're looking for, um, someone.' He told him.  
  
'Yeah.' Sekapook agreed.  
  
'Someone? Who is this someone, in particular?' Valser questioned. 'Do I know him?'  
  
That question struck Sekapook to the head harder than the contact the staff made with him did. He was awkwardly silent, thinking of a suitable answer. 'No. But you might, soon.'  
  
Valser stood still. He cocked his head at them. 'You two aren't assassins or anything, are you?'  
  
They both laughed heartily at this comment. 'No, no. But we ARE trying to look out for an assassin, as well.'  
  
'Oh, so you're protecting this person from being killed, are you?'  
  
'That's it!' Nigrowb finished. 'But, we would prefer if we kept some of our work a little secret.'  
  
Sekapook, once again, agreed. 'If it's okay..... no more questions about it.'  
  
Valser was silenced. 'Oh. Okay.'  
  
There was little conversation for a while, as Valser and the two men continued fighting. One after the other, Valser reduced their defensive skills in an embarrassing manner- he wasn't giving them an easy start into their training, that's for certain. But they improved. Sekapook improved greatly within a few minutes, and Nigrowb did eventually, too. But both quickly matched Valser's skills with the staff. Now, bouts were highly strung- out fights involving numerous parries between advancing attacks, with a continuous beat of clacking noises and footsteps as each person made circles around on the turf. Of course, Valser still managed to beat them in the end, but now the bouts were getting close.  
  
And yet, Valser still seemed disappointed. When he knocked Nigrowb again for the last time, he stopped.   
  
'What's up?' Nigrowb noticed his pause.  
  
'Now, the very reason I volunteered for you to train.' Valser explained. 'Was because of a report back about your.... Talents.'  
  
'Talents?' Asked Sekapook.  
  
'A guard told me you caused a Tamoran to explode into bits of shell. How did you do that?'  
  
They now knew what he was talking about- but they both went a little coy. 'We don't rightfully know. We certainly couldn't demonstrate for you here, right now.'  
  
But actually, Nigrowb had a notion. It happened to him twice, as he recalled. Once was with a Skull O' Wind, and another with a Tamoran. Both times, both times....... What did they have in common? He tried to think.  
  
He clicked his fingers. The first time, he had watched Johannah hit the tree because of the Skull O' Wind's actions. The second time was simply because to the Tamoran's inability to give up, as it rolled over and over again, it would still get back onto its feet and attack. Both times, he had become enraged with anger. Perhaps....   
  
'I think I know the reason.' Nigrowb piped up.  
  
Valser's face brightened. 'So, you can demonstrate here?' He inquired.  
  
'Not really. You see, the way these talents of ours activate is through our own building frustration. In other words, something would have to really annoy us for it to work.'  
  
Now Valser was back to being disappointed. 'And you don't feel frustrated now?'  
  
'Well...... no.' He admitted.   
  
Valser looked at Sekapook, who had stayed quiet, but he shrugged. 'I never even made this happen before, so there's no point in asking me.'  
  
Then, Valser smiled. He looked at Nigrowb in a crafty manner. He had an idea.  
  
He raised his staff again, but now he raised his defense with a sprint in his feet. Bouncing on his feet, and hopping side to side, he beckoned Nigrowb to come to him. 'Right. Try to hit me.' He commanded.  
  
Nigrowb raised his staff up. He flapped his arms forward to loosen them out. He watched Valser carefully, still hopping about.  
  
Suddenly, Valser poked Nigrowb in the chest, with the end of his staff. He had his chestplate on, so it didn't actually hurt him. But it took him by surprise.  
  
Valser jumped to Nigrowb's side, and poked him again. It chinked his armor, and again it didn't hurt him. And again, Valser tapped him with the staff. Nigrowb had no time to try and counter attack his actions, since he was able to get in with fast attacks. Probably illegal ones, had this been a game.  
  
But Valser was dodging side- to- side, still jabbing him. The jabs, over time, became harder and harder, until they were starting to hurt him. And Nigrowb still couldn't stop him, no matter how hard he tried to fend him off with the staff. His jabs moved in quickly, and out quickly. Sekapook was watching with intrigue.  
  
Now the jabs were winding him. He was thrusting straight for Nigrowb's gut, and he bent down with every hit.  
  
Just when Valser was about to hit him again, Nigrowb attacked. He sliced his staff upwards, yanking Valser's staff out of his grasp with incredible force. Both weapons went up in fiery flames, flying in a flaming arch in the air, landing to the ground nearby, slightly scorched. Valser's own staff was still alight near the center of it, where Nigrowb's staff hit it.  
  
Shocked, Valser looked at Nigrowb. He saw the man, breathing deeply, with a fiery gaze, and his eyes had gained an orange tint. He was standing with taut arms outward, looking extremely annoyed. Sekapook had looked as surprised as Valser was.  
  
Then, Valser listened. He didn't hear a single noise within the training grounds - none of the inflicting weapons or grunting, shouting men. It was completely quiet. He feared the embarrassment, that perhaps everyone was staring at them.  
  
He took a good, long look around him. All the soldiers, all the medics, Adeel and Ganondorf, all eyes on him and the two men. Nigrowb and Sekapook noticed as well. They felt a little hot under the collar. Nigrowb and Sekapook shuffled nervously.  
  
Valser raised his hands in the air, and produced a great beaming smile. 'It's all right, people.' He laughed weakly. 'Just........ trying something out.'  
  
'What's with the fireworks?' Someone shouted out, from the far corner of the grounds.  
  
'Fireworks?' He looked doubtful. 'What fireworks?' Probably your eyes playing tricks.'  
  
'No it wasn't!' The another guard shouted out. 'Your weapons caught on fire in mid air. I saw it!'  
  
'No, no, not fire!' He replied. He quickly glanced at his staff on the ground. The center of it was now a smoldering piece of charcoal.  
  
Adeel cleared his throat. 'People, people!' He waved his hands in the air, trying to attract attention. 'Just get back to your training, okay? We can sort this matter out ourselves afterwards.'  
  
After that, people were slowly going back to where they individually left off, paying no attention to them. Valser was relieved, until he reminded himself that he had to explain this to Adeel.  
  
Sekapook looked around again quickly to see if anyone was looking at them still. But there was a person, still looking at them, with intrigue. It was Ganondorf. Nigrowb's eyes met his, and then Ganondorf's eyes averted, to watching the other guards.  
  
Sekapook was a little worried about his behavior, to be honest.  
  
DRAGONS  
  
A few weeks had passed. Nigrowb and Sekapook continued their training, and became better accustomed to Hyrule Town Market, and knew more about the land of Hyrule in general- though, they never left outside of the castle grounds.  
  
They learned about the four main races of Hyrule, The main of these (or so everyone in Hyrule Town Market believed) were the Hylians, who were situated at the Hyrule Town Market and Kakariko Village, located at the foot of Death Mountain - of course, it was yet to be completed, since it was still being built. The race that lived actually on Death Mountain were the Gorons. These were supposedly rock- eating people which wore no clothing and represented boulders themselves. They were ruled over by the bad- tempered Darunia. Another race were the people of the rivers and lakes east of Hyrule, which were called the Zoras. They were very loyal to the cause of the King of Hyrule for many years beforehand, although they were themselves governed by a King, King Zora. And finally, the tribe of the desert west from Hyrule, the Gerudos. These were most interesting, since this tribe consisted entirely of women. The only male to have been born there for a hundred years was Ganondorf. As such, tradition meant that he automatically became their ruler. However, since Ganondorf worked for the Hylian army, queen Nabooru has been left in charge of them, so in a sense she is their queen. Although they were striving for peace with each other for many years, they had not yet been unified as one single land, so many political arguments were left unsettled   
  
But what was still bothering Nigrowb and Sekapook - there was still no sign of Link, or his assassin, or of any sign of Johannah or Valser wanting a child. Perhaps they should have been more relaxed about this, since no real threat was to be lain across their paths. But, it also meant that they, or rather NigSek, had to stay as highly unstable forms, and severed from both minds. They were beginning to get accustomed to their human forms well enough - that was never an issue they were worried about in the first place. They were generally rational thinking creatures, so they fit in quite well with the rest of the townspeople, on the whole. Though there were little things they needed to work on - they only just began to get the hang of actually sleeping 'under' their own 'bed sheets'. Johannah bought that little query up once when she found that when she was about to prepare their beds clean, only to find the sheets untouched.  
  
Johannah and Valser were aware that Nigrowb and Sekapook were slightly..... different. But they all still got on together brilliantly. Sometimes, they would help Johannah get food and such stuff from the market place. On others, they would continue their training with Valser at the Castle grounds. Neither would leave the other, and both traveled everywhere together. When one was talkative, the other was silent. It used to be that they would finish each other's sentences, but over the weeks they would let one speak for them both. In fact, because they were so similar, nobody really had to revert to recognizing them by their names, but when asked they provided their names like normal. Now they remember their own names, so didn't have to resort to any of the previous 'helmet checking' that they had to in the past.  
  
But within bouts of friendly conversation with people and working hours, both of them were becoming increasingly miserable. They were devoting a lot of their own concentration in keeping the fact that they are both of one creature, which was still hard to do now. It was getting harder to do every day. And now, they felt that they might begin to lose their battle. If they ever managed to save Link, they agreed with each other, they would never turn out to be the same person. Ever.  
  
One time, a day during the summer season, Nigrowb and Sekapook were on the routine of training, with Valser. They had moved on to archery, which Nigrowb was exceedingly talented in - Sekapook, however, was a little cack- handed at it. Valser was standing behind him, guiding Sekapook's arms using his own. With his practice, he was beginning to carefully hold his aim at the right angle, and was hitting more arrows on the target - getting near a bull's eye, however, was a different thing entirely, but it was a start.  
  
Then, unnoticed by everyone in the grounds, a messenger ran in, and marched up to Adeel and Ganondorf. The messenger quietly spoke to Adeel, with a private conversation going on. Even Ganondorf wasn't allowed to listen, instead supervising the training grounds more. He could see both of their heads nodding and shaking between sentences.  
  
The messenger walked off, and Adeel nudged up to Ganondorf. He explained to him what had happened. Then, they both turned around, and faced the men in the grounds.   
  
'Halt what you are doing, people.' Ganondorf called. It was the very first time that Nigrowb and Sekapook heard his voice. They abruptly stopped, and everyone else eventually silenced. They all looked in their direction.  
  
Adeel stepped forward. He coughed. 'Everybody is to amass ranks at one noon, outside of the City. Bring weapons. We shall be leaving promptly afterwards.' Then, they both left the grounds, into the castle corridors.  
  
Then, people gathered in groups, picked up their weapons, and began to leave the grounds. Nigrowb and Sekapook stayed with Valser. He was taking a few weapons and carrying them with him, but leaving others. 'I have better ones at home.' He muttered. 'My own personal ones.'  
  
Nigrowb and Sekapook were a little rushed off of their feet. 'What do we do?' Nigrowb asked.  
  
'We're not part of the Hylian Army. Should we come along, too?'  
  
He walked past them both. 'Don't see why not. It might be a good situation to put your starting training to use.' He was one of the last to leave the grounds, with only a couple men standing around talking.   
  
The two men followed behind Valser as he walked down the corridors. 'Do you have any idea what this may be all about?' Sekapook inquired.  
  
Valser didn't seem to care. 'Oh, I think it might be the day many of us were waiting for.'  
  
Nigrowb and Sekapook exchanged glances. 'What day was that?' Sekapook asked slowly.  
  
'The last day of the Dragons.' He said in a calm manner.  
  
The Last day of the Dragons, Nigrowb and Sekapook thought. Now they were waiting for it, near the base of Death Mountain. It was midday, and the surroundings were hot. It wasn't helped by the fact that they were near Death Mountain, a dormant volcano. It produced a mild heat, contributing further to the warmth provided by the sun beating down on them, from a rich blue, cloudless sky. Looking up the steep curving slope of the side of the mountain, it lead to a smoky summit, surrounded by a neat ring of clouds all around the top. It didn't look menacing, but it made its weary presence known.  
  
'Explain more about these Hylian Dragons.' Sekapook urged Valser. It turned out that they weren't allowed to be part of the debriefing by Adeel and Ganondorf, so they had to follow the army from behind. They marched up through the constructing Kakariko Village, cheered on by whoever lived there, and through the royal gates up towards the volcano. When they marched up, the vegetation became sparse, and they came close to the clouds in the sky. From where they were now, they could see much of Hyrule.  
  
Valser leaned to his side, talking to Sekapook out of the side of his mouth in an attempt to not be noticed by the other people. 'There's a hefty bit of explanation behind it.' He reasoned. 'Do you want to listen?'  
  
'Carry on.' Sekapook replied. Nigrowb, standing on Valser's other side, leaned closer to listen.  
  
'It has always been known that Hyrule was the birthplace of the gods. It was there that the whole world was created by the three Goddesses. But it was never quite as safe for people as it is now. For Hyrule, now governed by the four main races, was ruled by an altogether, more ferocious race of creatures.  
  
Hyrule was owned by dragons. Hylians, Gorons, Zoras and Gerudos alike had to bow down to the great kings of the sky, in fear of inducing their great anger. Of course, the dragons varied in their essence. None of them, from what I recall, were purely evil, or purely righteous, just either 'good' or 'bad'. Either they cared for society, like the Earth dragon Bonbalast, or they preferred to see it deceased, like the Sea dragon Gyaradosu did. Every location, every element, and every state of mind that people had, there was a dragon to represent it. There was even a dragon of Love, worshiped silently by individuals looking for partners to marry. All these dragons were highly magical, and flourished in their representing power.  
  
But in those old days, centuries ago, Hyrule was pitifully small. And the dragons, being territorial beasts that they are, were unable to stay restful for long in their confined spaces without conflicts between each other. This kind of reaction was happening for years before. Then, all of a sudden, these fights were more brutal. Dragons, after scraps, were now leaving with mortal wounds left as reminders to themselves. Some even died. And, unfortunately, it was usually the good dragons that perished.   
  
Outraged by each other fellow dragon, they all fought into battle. Every few years, two dragons will meet, fight and kill the loser dragon. Then the surviving dragon would go into hiding, gathering up its strength until it is ready to fight again. Sometimes, dragons would fight in pairs, sometimes singly, and often, two fights would occur on opposite sides of Hyrule at the same time. These fights were incredibly violent affairs, which would usually leave the landscape as barren, torched wastelands.   
  
The dragons were, one by one, eliminated. All the great rulers of the Earth - Gyaradosu, Bonbalast, Cumulusaros, Valintena, Mekka, - All disappeared from Hyrule. The land was becoming more sparse of the huge creatures. However, with these great ones, all of the good- hearted dragons were gone. The bad dragons were left, and all that was left within the minds of the dragons was greed. They wanted more of the land for themselves. So they still fought, regardless of the vast space left for each of them. And these dragons were even more of a threat to every creature in Hyrule than ever before.'  
  
'..... And now, only two dragons exist. Both of them evil, and, worst of all, of two conflicting elements.'  
  
Nigrowb and Sekapook listened with incredible interest. 'Who are these two dragons?' Nigrowb questioned.  
  
Valser turned and nodded towards Death Mountain, in the distance. 'One of them lives in the Temple created within that volcano. His name is Volvagia, and he is the more cruel- minded of these two dragons. He has awesome control over the element of fire, and governs all that burns within the crater.'  
  
Then Valser looked in the opposite direction, across the mountain range spread before them. Little clouds were sneaking between the peaks of the mountaintops, providing a spooky mist. 'Another one lives in the general direction of the Zora's domain, though his actual lair is as yet unknown. He is Artisane, a master of the icy winds and snowy blizzards.'  
  
Fire and ice....... The two most conflicting elements possible, and the worst to demonstrate against. It was surely impossible for these two bad dragons to try to reason with each other. But..... 'Why are we here, on this mountain?'  
  
'Yeah. How do we know that they will meet in this spot?' Sekapook added.  
  
Valser had an answer. 'This is more- or- less the half way spot between the two living areas of Volvagia and Artisane. They are likely to meet here, though it might be more to Volvagia's advantage, since this area is a tad warm.' He wiped his brow of the sweat, and swallowed. The sun was still beating down on them with an intense heat. 'We are here to watch and choreograph the final battle between the rulers of the sky - the Last Day of the Dragons.'  
  
'What happens if one of them wins, now that they won't have any opposition left?' Sekapook asked nervously.  
  
'Well, that dragon claims..... his rule over the whole of Hyrule.'  
  
Both men looked at him. 'Hyrule!' They exclaimed.  
  
Valser ignored them. He was looking towards the path leading up to the mountain, and so was everyone else. An army was approaching them, and they were all standing straight. Nigrowb and Sekapook decided to stand in order, too. Though they still watched the army approach.  
  
This 'army' was slightly different to the Hylian army, for it was made up of incredibly ugly, brown- skinned and round- headed men. Their mouths stretched across their whole face, making them look a little like frogs, except for the little tuft of hair upon each and every man's chin. They had huge round bellies, and they waddled along as they walked. They were all making little moaning sounds, as though they were all feeling ill.  
  
'Those are Gorons.' Valser whispered.  
  
'Right.' They both agreed.  
  
The Gorons, all in a line, walked over the area that they were all standing across, further away from the Hylians. Eventually, and a fair pace away from them, they stopped and faced them. They all made an almost complete ring around the perimeter the huge space, leaving open gaps on two ends of the ring. The Gorons, from what Nigrowb and Sekapook could see, were unarmed - which was strange, since they also wore no armor. They wondered how they were supposed to handle the situation without any protection.  
  
Then, down the path, another Goron arrived. He looked different to the others, which must point out his status for the Gorons. He had strong, muscular arms and lots of hair sprouting all around the edge of his face. He didn't waddle but strutted into the large area. Over his shoulder, held in one of his giant fists, he was carrying a huge, steel hammer. He had a grumpy look on his face.  
  
'I'm glad you could help us, Darunia.' Adeel welcomed. 'On such short notice, too.'  
  
The Goron's angry face beamed out into more of a smile. 'It was nothing, Brother.'   
  
Just then, that comment struck Nigrowb as being a bit odd. 'Brother?' He murmured to Valser.  
  
'It's a friendly term he uses.' Valser murmured back. 'He appraises people which he trusts the most as his Sworn Brother. Even the King of Hyrule is his alleged Brother.'  
  
'Oh.' Nigrowb continued listening.  
  
'Has there been any action occurring in the Fire Temple?' Ganondorf inquired.  
  
Darunia looked at the tall Gerudo man, with a hint of disgust. He certainly did not trust him, either. But he answered; 'None as of yet, General.' He summed up. 'But it's been incredibly quiet for the last few days.'  
  
Adeel looked at the mountainrange in the opposite direction. 'The Zoras have reported more of the same thing.' He mentioned.   
  
Valser kept still, but he muttered more to the other two men. 'Be prepared, lads. We might have some action soon.'  
  
'How do you know?' Sekapook asked further.  
  
'It's always quiet for three days before a battle. During midday, they meet.'  
  
Adeel and Darunia separated. They walked off to their respective armies, having agreed on further orders. Adeel faced the Hylian soldiers, raising his hands in the air. Nigrowb could see Darunia do similar to the Gorons. 'Troops, now you should take your places.' He called out.  
  
The soldiers took steps back away from the open space in unison, so all that could be heard were simultaneous footsteps echoing around the wall like surroundings. They all then crouched down, hiding behind any bits of scenery they could. Nigrowb and Sekapook were both behind a giant rock, and Valser was hidden in the branches of a short tree. Soon, all of the people, both the Hylians and Gorons, were hiding. Some of the Gorons, bizarrely, just curled up and laid there, attempting to look like stones. It was effective, though - it was hard to spot all of them from the real stones.  
  
The place was silent. A gentle breeze was blowing over the landscape. It was calm and tranquil, and that was making Nigrowb and Sekapook anxious. The anticipation. That was what got to them. Any moment, any time now, a massive fight between two great monsters was about to happen - but all they could do, was wait. The build- up was tremendous. Neither of them could hold their feelings in for much longer.  
  
They didn't have to. From the sky, an icy cloud loomed over from the mountain range. It grew with alarming speed over the expanse of the clear blue, blocking out the sun. This was the ice dragon, no doubt.  
  
But also, a rumbling came from the mountain itself. It was slowly increasing in power, rattling the stones and debris littered over it. The ground became a little hotter, too. This was the fire dragon's entry. And now, they were about to meet.  
  
These unnatural occurrences continued for a few minutes more, until, at last, a dragon appeared. From the extremely thick and misty clouds in the sky, a thin, cold blue snake- like creature plummeted to the ground. It made little arches through the air at it hurtled like a bullet to the ground. Before it hit, it swooped low to the ground, back up into the sky again making a deep moaning sound. Nobody saw any detailed features of the monster for how fast it went, but Nigrowb and Sekapook didn't particularly want to see it.  
  
Marine Ice Dragon, Artisane.  
  
Then, the ground cracked. In the cracks glowed bright red, almost orange, molten lava. Spurting forth in splutters and clouds of molten rock, and coating the ground nearby. From here, another sinewy body lurked out into the open air. This dragon crawled out of the ground before it leapt up into the air, giving everyone a good glimpse. From what Nigrowb and Sekapook could see, it seemed to have large, bulbous eyes, but its eyelids were only half- open, showing nothing more than a green slit on each eye. The top of its face, peculiarly, seemed to don a helmet, showing none of the upper jaw or forehead. It had two ram- like horns curled around and pointing forwards, and a huge, bright mane of orange..... fire. It was probably hair, though they would be blown to tell the difference. It seemed to fission out of the lava he himself was crawling out of.  
  
Subterranean Lava Dragon, Volvagia.  
  
Eventually he too escaped into the sky, circling the other dragon. They both made rings around the sky with their long bodies, and made their presence very well known. It almost seemed as though they were whipping up a storm, as the winds blew harder the moment they appeared.  
  
Nigrowb looked at everyone on their side of the area. He saw all eyes - even Sekapook's - were focused on the two dragons, bellowing calls of anger and hatred at each other. It made an almighty racket, as if it was thunder and lightning, with a gale force wind.  
  
'Now.' Valser shouted, to make his voice heard over the other noises. 'We wait. And dodge.'  
  
'Dodge what?' Nigrowb called back.  
  
A blue fireball made impact with the ground, near the Gorons. Many ran out away from the exploding ball of icy flame, but one was caught by it. When the snowy clouds dissipated, a sheet of ice reached out from the crater in the ground, making a cracking, straining noise. The Goron was frozen solid, in a sitting position. Other Gorons gathered around it, wary of the ice sheet around it, and sobbing. They had lost a friend.  
  
'THAT'S what we dodge. Stray projectiles.'  
  
Cautiously, they both continued watching the dragons. Artisane cut across Volvagia's flight path, causing him to screech in frustration. Volvagia went into Artisane's body with mouth ajar open. He clamped down onto his pale blue skin, wrenching him down. There was a lot of vapor around Volvagia's mouth as it touched icy cold skin. In fact, it seemed to hurt him. Artisane was wriggling about, clawing at the back of Volvagia's body with its two scythe- like forearms.   
  
That was when Volvagia flew higher up in the air and threw his head down. Letting go of Artisane, he went hurtling towards the ground. But since Artisane still had his claws attached to Volvagia's skin, he pulled Volvagia down with him. They both tumbled towards the ground, for the large area the armies were in. For the human army.   
  
'Valser - run.' Nigrowb said wearily.   
  
'Don't need to tell me that twice.' He called out as he ran. He had already begun moving before Nigrowb said anything. Sekapook was with him.  
  
Nigrowb glanced quickly up to see the two dragons come closer and closer to the ground. He was just about to run up to Valser and Sekapook on the far side of the area.   
  
The dragons collided with the ground, shaking the mountain side. Nigrowb was thrown back, on the opposite side to everyone else. He was the only one here.  
  
'Nigrowb!' Sekapook anxiously called out. He had never expected anything like this to happen. He couldn't see anything - the two dragons were in the way.  
  
Volvagia clawed at Artisane's exposed belly, with Artisane wriggling uncomfortably about. He was making higher pitched moaning sounds, and flicking his tail about.  
  
Nigrowb was still standing there, watching everything happen. It was now that he could see Artisane's facial features. If Volvagia looked the more evil, than Artisane was just plain ugly. He had segmented eyes, sticking out of the top of its huge face like a crab's. Two antenna- like appendages stuck out of his head, and he had a wide, tooth- filled mouth. The teeth stuck forward and made a lattice pattern in his mouth. A thick tongue wriggled around in his gaping mouth, coating frosty saliva everywhere.  
  
Nigrowb recalled the immense danger he was in, and edged away from the fighting dragons. At least he could be protected along the rim of the area. He increased in speed.  
  
Artisane snorted, spraying his spittle over Volvagia's face. He winced with the cold saliva over his metal face. Then Artisane rose from his position and grabbed Volvagia by the throat in his teeth. With a flick of his head, he flung Volvagia away from him.   
  
Nigrowb stopped running as, from across the sky, Volvagia landed in a crumpled heap before Nigrowb, sliding up to the rim of the area. Volvagia screeched in pain.   
  
Now he was stuck - between both of the dragons, in the center of the area.  
  
Sekapook watched the two fighting dragons with fear. He still couldn't see him.  
  
'Who's that idiot over with them?' Adeel shouted angrily.  
  
'His name's Nigrowb.' Sekapook called to him. 'He's my friend.'  
  
A few titters from people around. 'Nigrow? I don't remember that officer!'   
  
'He's not a member of the army!' Sekapook replied. 'We're here to help you.'  
  
'Wha-' Adeel was insulted. 'What the hell do you mean by that?! We can handle this easily by ourselves!'  
  
'There he is! I see him!' Valser straightened up onto his toes to look over.  
  
Sekapook stared with anticipation. He didn't want to see his friend's.... No. His other half's body lying lifeless there.  
  
Volvagia had been thrown off by Artisane, and now Artisane flipped over onto his front. He crawled around the edge of the area, allowing the people to see the lying dragon. Between the two, Nigrowb stood, looking panicked.  
  
'Nigrowb! What are you doing? Get out of their range!' Valser yelled at the man.   
  
'Over here!' Sekapook waved his hands. He caught Nigrowb's attention, and he began to walk to them. Then sprinted. Then ran.  
  
Just then, Sekapook spotted Volvagia, get up onto his feet. 'Nigrowb! Watch out!' He cried.  
  
Volvagia exhaled deeply, turning the very air before him into fire. He curled around, and it made his flame spread over the space of the ground. Dust clouds were blown around by the sheer force of the fires. Nigrowb wasn't anywhere to be seen.  
  
Sekapook screwed his face up in terror. 'No...!' He breathed. It couldn't possibly have been. Not now, not here. It was never thought possible to him, that one of them might die without the other one. The beginnings of a tear formed at the base of his eyes. He could be.......  
  
'Hey, what? How in the....' Valser exclaimed.   
  
Sekapook looked. Still standing on the spot, and incredibly unscathed, Nigrowb stood. He was hunched over still, then began to look around him. He was unexpected for this, and, by the look in his eyes, neither was Volvagia.  
  
Artisane took this moment to lunge at Volvagia. Leaping over Nigrowb, he clawed at his metal face again. Little sparks flew as his two giant claws scraped at the steel face protection, and the noise startled Volvagia. He jerked back towards the wall, then made for the air again. Artisane followed behind, and they continued their fight in the sky.  
  
Nigrowb reached the massed group of humans and Gorons. Sekapook rushed to him and hugged him. 'You're alive!' He said out of happiness. He continued his manly, friendly hug.  
  
Valser was completely gobsmacked. 'What happened out there? Did the fires get you?'  
  
Nigrowb broke away from Sekapook's embrace of thankfulness. He faced Valser, and saw that some guards, Gorons, Adeel and Darunia were behind him, gawking at him. 'Well evidently it must have - when I saw the flames come near me, I froze on the spot. Yet I've come out of it untouched.'  
  
'You can say that again!' Darunia elucidated.  
  
Valser looked up and down him again, then smiled. He knew what it was about. He nodded to him, keeping his secret to himself.  
  
'Watch out!' A Goron yelled. Everyone looked up, and spotted a fireball come towards the ground, fortunately it was aimed wildly out of range of the people, instead hitting the side of the mountain range.  
  
Suddenly, Sekapook became irritated. 'This is stupid!' He shouted out. 'We're running around here like sitting Cuccos, waiting to be flamed by two dragons!' He looked at Adeel, without any notion of shyness that he did before. Adeel licked his lips clean. 'Why are we here, anyway?'   
  
Adeel cleared his throat. 'When the other dragon has been defeated and killed, we shall put an end to the other's life, thus removing the threat of their presence forever.'  
  
'Couldn't we have waited at the Castle before we moved?' He snapped. Sekapook was enraged now, because of the near- death experience of his other half.  
  
'If we had done that.' Adeel answered, with an equal feeling of anger. 'There might not be many of us LEFT! Not everyone's made from asbestos like you two!'  
  
'He has a point, Sekapook.' Nigrowb reasoned. 'If we left it to later, then the winning dragon could take our castle out by surprise.'  
  
Sekapook was red with anger, but he silenced. He clenched his fists.  
  
An explosion detonated in the air. Everyone now looked up, to see Artisane in flames. Volvagia circled around him, and the ice dragon was wriggling around in the air, trying to put out its flames. A mixture of hissing evaporation noises and disgruntled moans echoed in the air. The icy clouds still covered the rest of the sky, and they were a dark gray.  
  
'Artisane's losing the battle!' A guard shouted.   
  
Ganondorf, who as ever had kept silent for most of the occasion, was taking an extreme interest in both of the dragons. He gazed upon them with a fixed smile across his dark green- brown face. As Sekapook watched him, he wondered exactly what was going through his mind.  
  
An icy fireball seared across the sky, not too far above everyone's heads. In fact, it clipped the side of the area wall and exploded. Chipped pieces of ice were sprayed everywhere, and another sheet of growing ice was inching its way over the rocky surface of the wall. It came dangerously close to the armies in their big group, so they moved away from it when it began to make its cracking noise.  
  
Artisane flew over the area, skimming over the tops of the walls. Volvagia was flying towards him from vertically above, with his mouth wide open. Another flame burst forth from his mouth, and it singed the skin of the ice dragon as it flew by. When Artisane flew out of reach, the flame was still heading towards the ground.  
  
As soon as everyone felt the heated air force down to them they ran. The fire exploded on the ground again, sending yet more dust clouds out from around it. The dust itself was combusting by itself. Fortunately, nobody was caught by it. Not even Nigrowb.  
  
Now everyone was separate again. Nigrowb, Sekapook, Adeel, Darunia and a mixture of soldiers and Gorons were on one side of the area, while Ganondorf, Valser and the other people were on the other side, close up to the wall. 'I have to admit, we are in an unsafe predicament.' Adeel broke in. That obviously didn't impress any of them.  
  
Volvagia landed on the ground with his feet touching the ground. But he still faced the ground, letting his fiery mane rest around him. He began to claw for the ground, digging into it. With a few scratches and head burrowing, he broke through the surface of the ground. He dived underneath, and with a flick of his tail he disappeared under the ground. The hole filled up with molten lava, showing no hopes of getting in.  
  
Artisane didn't observe Volvagia do this, so he was surprised not to find the fire dragon anywhere in sight. He flew straight for the ground and landed on it with his two claws digging in to the hard turf. His tail followed behind, and rested on the ground behind him. Ignoring all the observing creatures around him he sniffed the ground near the lava hole. He could certainly smell something - he just couldn't see anything. His segmented eyes twitched around cautiously.  
  
'Where is he.' Valser whispered coldly. 'Where did he go.'  
  
The dragon was getting paranoid now. Volvagia was playing with him. Artisane curled up slightly, making moaning noises from its throat. It was losing. It was weaker. And, it was being stalked. It stayed nervously alert.  
  
Volvagia burst from the ground and clamped its mouth over Artisane's snout. He had no teeth as such, but he had a strong grasp on him anyway- so strong, in fact, that it snapped the giant horn on Artisane's snout off. It fell to the ground with a thump. Lava sprayed out from where Volvagia burst out of, and burnt Artisane's skin when it made contact. Artisane struggled around, trying to throw Volvagia off of him, but he was holding on tight.  
  
Everyone was watching fearfully, awaiting the moment. They all knew Volvagia would win. Now they simply waited for his time.  
  
Volvagia, in a cruel event, exhaled his fiery breath while his mouth was over Artisane's snout. Flames licked around his face, and fizzed into vapor along the scaly, icy skin. It hurt him terribly, and it showed - Artisane couldn't keep still. He reached for Volvagia's face with his front claws, but they still scraped across his metal face.  
  
Nigrowb and Sekapook watched with a slight regret. Both dragons were bad, and either of them wouldn't have thought twice to kill the other. And yet, as they watched what was basically the end of the ice dragon's life, they felt a little sorrow for it. These two were the last of their kind in the whole world, in existence - actually, not quite, since Pengal tamed a dragon as his steed. But these magnificent beasts were the last the Hylians would ever see. Even their true form as the four- armed spiny shelled monster is by no means a dragon. But these last two were about to meet the last few minutes right now, right here on the mountain. And this was a miserable way to finish off their entire race. Being the reptilian creatures they were, NigSek, settled within the souls of both men, felt sympathy for both of them. No matter how fiendish they were, they would be sorely missed, by them at least.  
  
Artisane broke away from Volvagia's grip at last. But he was brutally wounded. He had bite marks - toothless - all across the body, his face was burnt to an extremity, and he was panting heavily. He cowered in shame. Volvagia, however, didn't escape unbruised. His body was covered by stony gray patches, where Artisane's fire breath turned his molten skin into its cold, stone form. But he was definitely the winner, still standing as proudly dominant as he did before. His fiery mane still glowed with a burning luminosity that puts Artisane's scrawny antennae to shame. Artisane was, in many cases, the loser. And now, it was time to pay the penalty.  
  
Volvagia breathed in deeply. His throat inflated with all the air he was taking in, and the inside of his mouth glowed white- hot. Artisane simply waited obligatory.  
  
'I don't understand.' A guard commented. It was Jon. 'Why doesn't he do something, while he's building up power?'  
  
Valser was about to answer, when Sekapook interrupted. 'He knows he has lost.' He explained. 'Even if he did escape, his power is too weak against Volvagia. Volvagia has won already.' With that, Valser raised an eyebrow to Sekapook.  
  
'So we're just waiting for the death of Artisane.' Jon concluded. Nobody had anything to say to that, so they didn't.  
  
Then, what it had been building up to unraveled. Volvagia exhaled with such force he wheezed. A titanic wave of heat and fire engulfed Artisane completely. Sekapook and Nigrowb looked away, too frightened to even gaze upon his remains. The others gasped as they saw the flames dissipate.  
  
Artisane's ugly face and body was a smudged mass of icy flesh and skeleton. Just ten seconds ago it was alive, and thinking. Now it was lifeless. The skeleton crumpled slowly to the ground, and began to melt away along with the flesh. After time, they all watched the remains simmer into a little pool on the ground. The pool then faded away into nothing. And so, that was the end of the ice dragon. Volvagia screamed into the air in triumph. The icy clouds faded away, to be replaced by sulphurous ones bellowing out from the mouth of Death Mountain. This vile monster, was now the ruler of Hyrule.  
  
'ATTACK!!!' Adeel shouted at the top of his voice.  
  
Now, everyone charged for Volvagia. Gorons and humans alike now littered the area, racing up to the beastly creature before them. Volvagia suddenly noticed these little creatures around him, and pounced into action.  
  
All the people crowded around him, weapons and all, trying to scare the monster by wielding them in the air. The Gorons cantered hopelessly towards the dragon, probably to their own doom. Volvagia still watched them, unimpeded by their actions. He wasn't afraid.  
  
'They're crazy! They'll be roasted!' Nigrowb crowed. He, Sekapook, Valser, the higher- ranking officers and most of the older, wiser guards kept back.  
  
Indeed, the thought had probably passed through the dragon's head. He bent down, opened his mouth wide, and spew forth more flames. He lowered his head to be level with the ground and torched anything within a small radius of himself. The people suddenly ran away from him, but many were helplessly caught by the flames. Nothing was left of them except for a little mound of stuff spread on the ground, with flames crackling over them. It was horrible.   
  
Some guards pounced to behind Volvagia, brandishing swords, spears and other weapons. They tried to hack at the molten skin of the dragon, but it wasn't doing any damage. Their weapons rebounded off of his skin, and many were beginning to grow red hot with the heat they gained from Volvagia's skin. Most of the guards had to drop their swords through all the heat they had attained, and the wooden spears were burning up.  
  
Darunia marched forward. 'Don't attack him like that, go for the head!' He shouted. 'The only weak part of a dragon is his scrawny little noggin!' This was true to see, since dragons didn't have many body parts to speak of anyway - they were simply serpents with arms. In fact, men of old used to call dragons 'worms', because of their appearance.  
  
But Volvagia had other ideas. He leapt for the air, making more people tumble over as he whipped his body up from around them. Some were slightly burned by his heat, but no more real casualties. Yet.   
  
But now Volvagia was in the air, out of reach of all the guards and Gorons. Volvagia seemed to be teasing them as he flew around in circles in the air, high above them.  
  
'Are there any archers here?' Sekapook inquired with Adeel.  
  
Adeel's face brightened. 'ARCHERS!' He shouted out. Immediately, a few hands raised out of the massing group, holding longbows.  
  
The other people took steps away from these individuals, and they piled into a formation in the area, Notching their arrows, they squinted up to the dragon. Arrows held up, and tracing a pattern above each archer, following the exact movements of Volvagia.  
  
'Remember.' Darunia warned them. 'For the head.'  
  
Then, a nasty thought struck Valser. 'Hang on - doesn't Volvagia have that metal plating over his- ?'  
  
'FIRE!!' Adeel yelled to them all.  
  
Immediately, a burst of arrows flew up into the air. They traveled great distances upwards in the sky, making little whizzing sounds and rising up to the level of the dragon.   
  
However, it was unsuccessful. Most of them missed him completely, raining back down to them and landing harmlessly on the floor. Some hit Volvagia's head, but simply made little tinny pangs as they chipped his face. They too fell to the ground. Volvagia seemed to laugh with a screech.  
  
The dragon headed towards the ground again. Spiraling head first for the rocky surface of Death Mountain, he then turned in mid- air, flying for the army.  
  
'Watch out!' Someone cried out. They all scampered away as Volvagia opened his mouth again and exhaled deeply with a teeth- gritting screech. Fire spread everywhere, and he blew up more burning dust clouds again.   
  
Sekapook stopped running. 'My eyes!' He wailed. He had them tightly shut, rubbing them furiously with his fists. The hot dust had been rushed up into his face unexpectedly.  
  
Jon the guard paused, looking over his shoulder to see Sekapook standing there. Behind him, in the air, closing in to him, was Volvagia.  
  
Jon thought that he was Nigrowb - who could blame him? - and relaxed a bit, knowing he was impervious to Volvagia's fire. But, what if that was a misunderstanding? Besides which, he couldn't simply leave him there, whatever the case. Plus, if Volvagia didn't burn him to a crisp, he would grab him with his mouth. One way or the other, he was in danger.  
  
Nigrowb looked back, seeing Sekapook on the spot, walking away slowly from Volvagia. The dragon was closing in fast.   
  
'Sekapook - watch out!' Nigrowb called.   
  
Sekapook was pushed out of the way by Jon. The man tumbled to the ground, clear of the dragon's path.  
  
But Jon was still standing there. He looked around, and saw Volvagia's face. His mouth opened wide.  
  
'NO!!!' Nigrowb cried.   
  
Before anyone could answer, Volvagia breathed again. The guard disappeared behind more white- hot flames. The fire dragon passed over the spot, curling up to the air. His body followed behind, up to the sky with him.  
  
And, just like that, Jon the guard was gone.  
  
Nigrowb was utterly distraught. Of all the guards here, bar the high- ranking officers and Valser, Jon was the one he knew the most. Actually he knew nothing of his life at all. And he never will. But, the moment they had met, they would have known him better. He saved him from the Tamoran before. This was his dept being paid.  
  
Nigrowb felt the surge of fury pass through him again. His fist were clenched, his teeth grinding together. With a great feeling of fury he looked coldly to Volvagia in the sky, circling above them all.  
  
When Sekapook got up onto his feet, he saw Nigrowb looking up. He was breathing heavily, looking more so angry as he walked up to them. 'Uh- oh.' He murmured. Valser watched Nigrowb too, with similar worry.  
  
Nigrowb caught a glimpse of a guard holding a bow. 'Gimme that.' He muttered, snatching the longbow off of him. With that, he forced the guards head down with his hand and grabbed a handful of arrows out of the quiver hung on his back. Already a flame licked the corners of the longbow in his hand. He marched furiously to the open space.  
  
'That man's crazy.' Adeel proclaimed. 'He saw what the other arrows did to that monster!'  
  
Valser exchanged a glance with Adeel, smiling. 'You haven't seen him in action yet.' He reasoned.  
  
Nigrowb stopped. He dropped the spare arrows onto the ground beside him, paying no attention to the people behind him. His eyes were focused squarely on the dragon, as he notched an arrow into his longbow. He held it up to the sky. When he bought both up, they made a flared flame before him. The tip of the arrow was glowing hot.  
  
'What.... In.... Hyrule?' Adeel mouthed.  
  
Nigrowb let go of the arrow. It screamed through the air, and exploded when it hit Volvagia, square on the face. Bits of debris flew out from him high in the sky as it did so, and Volvagia's head was knocked back with the sheer impact of the arrow. As the debris fell down to the ground, Valser noticed what it was - it was bits of metal. The same metal that Volvagia's head casing was made of.  
  
Volvagia fell downwards, through the air, for the ground. Nigrowb ran out of the way back to the people. He turned around to see Volvagia's sinewy body collide with the ground. It landed with a rumble, shaking the boulders around the area. He didn't move much more after that.  
  
After a wait for action, Ganondorf then stepped forward. He gazed at the dragon, still intrigued by it. He watched him closely for any movement. Every so often, he could see Volvagia's ribcage move, in a breathing motion. 'He's not dead yet.' He called out to the others.  
  
Darunia moved closer, hitting his great hammer into the palm of his other hand. 'We can quickly solve that.' He sneered. Then he looked back and waved his hand over, in the motion of beckoning. 'CHARGE!' He yelled.  
  
All the guards, Gorons, and other people rushed towards the lying dragon. A great quarrel occurred as everyone moved in, and saw, for the first time, Volvagia's uncovered face.  
  
Nigrowb and Sekapook observed it closely too. The metal part of his head had been blown away in the most, leaving a few bits of it around the eyes and horns on his face. The rest of his head, that had been uncovered, was albino white. Volvagia's eyes were closed shut, and people walked closer to him.  
  
His eyes opened. His gaze matched Nigrowb's, who stopped dead in his tracks. He was beginning to regret shooting that arrow now.  
  
Volvagia was mad. He rose up quickly and screeched his highest- pitched roar possible. Everyone backed away again. Volvagia was a little shaken, but he still looked around at everyone who was gazing up at his dizzy heights. How could they treat the ruler of Hyrule with this disrespect? That was probably what the diabolical beast was thinking.  
  
A rope flew up through the air. It landed on the opposite side of Volvagia, and rested over the base of his neck, behind his horns. A guard grabbed the hooked end of it, and with the help of other guards tugged on it. The other side was being pulled, and the rope went taut. Volvagia's head was yanked down, and he screamed in agony with it. The rope seemed to be made of a hard, leathery material, and was surprisingly resisting the burning of Volvagia's skin.   
  
Nevertheless, Volvagia reared his ugly head higher, pulling up some guards with him. They flew comically about in the air, landing about the place. Volvagia thrashed his head about to try and throw the rope off. Another two ropes sailed over him, making a crisscross pattern over him. Gorons grabbed the loose rope and pulled it down with their greater strength and weight. Again, Volvagia was yanked down to the ground. He struggled to break free, but the material was tough and taut. Volvagia was not pleased.  
  
'That's it.' Adeel directed. 'Hold him still. To the ground, THE GROUND!' A few guards slipped with their rope, which caused him to get angry.  
  
Darunia marched forward, hammer in hand, up to Volvagia's head. A guard nipped up to him and began to ravel a rope around his mouth. Volvagia kept snapping at him, until two guards grabbed both ends of it and pulled hard, locking his jaws tightly together.  
  
Sekapook, with his eyes still sore, watched the dragon with hatred. He, like Nigrowb, felt a little sorrow for Artisane, long now deceased. But he could feel no sorrow for this foul monster. He didn't take pity on either them or the other dragons. Now they should take no pity on him.  
  
Darunia now faced Volvagia, straining and squirming under all the ropes. People kept shuffling about as they were pulled back and forth by his strength. But the dragon watched the mighty Goron king look down onto him. He clasped his hammer in both hands, aiming it on Volvagia's forehead. The dragon paid no attention to his seemingly idle threat, and did not show him any fear.  
  
Darunia kept raising and lowering his hammer, still precariously above Volvagia's head. He sneered at him.  
  
'Hear my words, Volvagia.' He recited to him. 'Your end was to come from the very beginning, and you knew it.' Now he raised his hammer, high above his head. 'And with this Sacred Goron hammer that my own father passed down to me, we shall forever rid Hyrule of your kind. And now.....'  
  
Darunia threw down the head of the hammer straight onto Volvagia's face. It smashed into the tender, vulnerable skin that had previously been hidden under his helmet. No blood, no bone, no bits of flesh or metal, it simply hit his head with full impact and a clang.  
  
The place flashed. Volvagia began screaming a wailing scream. An incredible retaliating power surged through his body. He wriggled about grotesquely. He lurched up, away from the ground, straining the ropes tied over him.   
  
He threw the people hanging on to them right off, away from him. He struggled into the air, still screeching. Tiny stone grains fell down from Volvagia. It was his skin, cooling down.  
  
Volvagia continued to fly circles in the air, but as everyone watched him he was contracting inwards more and more. He was flying inwards and outwards of his curling self, over and under its own body. Still screaming.  
  
Suddenly, fires lit up over its own body, flickering in little orange glows. From these gaping holes appeared in its skin. Volvagia was going through its own dying phase before them, in excruciating pain. It deserved it, for all the pain it delivered to people and dragons alike. The fires grew and grew, over its whole body. Eventually it was reduced to a fiery streak snaking across the sky.  
  
From this fire blaze, bones showered the area. People covered their heads and dodged around to avoid the large dragon bones. Ribcages fell down and embedded themselves into the hard soil. They stuck out like tree branches. Nigrowb and Sekapook could see the flame in the sky reduce down to a fireball.  
  
And then, that fireball fell to Hyrule. It collided with the ground into a small crater. The fires dissipated, and the dust settled. All there was left, was Volvagia's evil skull, jarred open in a gaping position.  
  
'..... it is done.' Darunia sighed, concluding his recital.  
  
Everyone gathered around to look at the fallen dragon skull. As Artisane had been before, they stared at the remnants of a creature that had once threatened their lives. Now it was gone. And with it, so were the last of the dragons. This was the Last Day of the Dragons. They were all extinct, with no exception.   
  
Ganondorf stepped forward from the group. He closed in on the dragon skull, and placed his hand on the front of the top jaw. He rubbed it slowly, his head hanging down. Silently, he got up, and faced the crowds.  
  
'We have no more to fear.' Ganondorf concluded. He seemed truly, and genuinely, very sad. Perhaps he too missed the notion of living the world with dragons. Nigrowb and Sekapook, however, remained skeptical of the real reason behind his sadness. He was still in their minds a peculiar man - and his thinking must be mysterious too.  
  
Everyone cheered. All arms went up into the air with triumph, and a chorus of joyful applause filled the air. The Gorons started to clap their hands in the air and dance around, too. It was their moment of celebration, for the destruction of the dragons.  
  
And yet, Nigrowb and Sekapook were still a little sad. They were still thinking about the extinction of the Hylian dragons. No more would they fly across the sky in magnificent awe, and no more would dragons be talked about as if they were part of every day life. They now only existed in stories, in fairy tales. They had all died. And so too, did many Gorons, and many Hylians. And Jon, who had risked his life to save theirs, and to lose his within the face of terror. That, despite them knowing very little about him, struck them within the bottoms of their hearts the most.  
  
But then, that was part and parcel with the one thing that they were gaining all too much of; experience of human life. They had sampled it well enough when they traveled with Link and friends across ISZAMI. But then, they were significantly different to now. Being the monster, they - or rather, NigSek - were merely observers to all the different emotions that the other travelers went through. That wasn't to say that they never felt emotions before (indeed, they had felt very strong emotions of torment, being isolated for 600 years in a cave) but they were still slightly cut off from the other people he had met. But now, indistinguishable from everyone else all around them, they were gaining emotions to the maximum. And it was very painful, still feeling a deep sorrow for those that had died today.   
  
In fact, Sekapook raised his hands up. 'Quiet, everybody!' He called out. They had all stopped cheering before, and were packing their weapons and things up. All heads turned to him. A few whispers circulated around the group.  
  
'We've both been thinking.' Nigrowb started. 'It is all very well that we celebrate this momentous occasion, but perhaps, we should also think about those brave souls that gave up their lives to bring us to this predicament.'  
  
People's faces started to go into thoughtful poses, when they suddenly remembered some of their friends and such that were gone. They had completely ignored the fact over the apparent success.  
  
Nigrowb lowered his gaze towards the floor. So did Sekapook. They stared silently to the ground, slowly closing their eyes. Everyone watched them do this to their puzzlement. The whole place was silent, except for the blowing of the wind, slight and gentle through the air.  
  
Valser lowered his head and looked to the ground, staying absolutely silent. Then Darunia lowered his head. Adeel and Ganondorf did the same too (though Ganondorf was a little reluctant). The high- ranking officers were now silent, leaving only the soldiers and Gorons still watching.  
  
Then, one by one, the guards did the same. Eventually the Gorons followed behind. And, with that, everyone was in deep silence. As if it was a funeral, they all thought to themselves everyone that had been here today and was now lost. All of them, everyone, reminiscing. And standing perfectly still, among the bones of the dragon and charred remains, in the rocky area on the side of Death Mountain.  
  
That night, the whole town threw a celebration for the brave Hylian soldiers who risked their lives to defeat Volvagia and Artisane, the last of the dragons. It was Valser's unfortunate duty, however, to report to Jon's family about his sudden loss. From what Nigrowb and Sekapook understood, they accepted it in their stride.  
  
The Gorons were holding their own personal commemoration in their city atop of Death Mountain. They had also taken the bones of Volvagia and sealed it into their Fire Temple, as a sacrifice to the Goddesses proving their power and courage. It seemed that they feared the dragon greatly for many years because they lived at such close proximity to his lair, and were extremely proud of Darunia's fatal blow which killed him. They claimed his demise as much to their own behalf, which the Hylians weren't particularly pleased with.  
  
But now, it was evening. The Hyrule Market square had been cleared, and around the perimeter of it were cloth- lain tables covered with piles of food. In front of them were a ring of seats, positioned behind more tables, and in the very center of them were a couple of torches illuminating the place. This was no more than a feast, but a grand feast it was.  
  
Sekapook's mouth was indubitably salivating with all the food laid out. So much of it was meat, from animals that neither of them knew yet, but it looked delicious anyway. They had eaten many animals before in the past - never cooked.  
  
Sekapook grabbed a plate and piled all that he could onto it. Nigrowb was a little more polite, in which he carefully picked the most succulent snacks and positioned them on his plate in a modest display. He plucked a little meaty thing from a basket, and took a bite out of it. It had an almost fruity taste to it, along with the salty, succulent tender meat.   
  
'Vif if good ftuff.' Sekapook mumbled, a mouth full of food.  
  
Nigrowb elbowed him in the arm. Sekapook winced. 'I don't think we're supposed to eat anything, yet. Nobody else is.'  
  
Sekapook looked around. People took plates of food from the outer tables, picking at the food and plopping it into their mouths, then walking to the inner tables to sit. Nobody was actually digging in to their mounds of food yet. Other people, garbed in fantastic looking clothing and silk robes, started to amass in the center place with the torches.  
  
Nigrowb decided on the last bits of food and walked over to the table. He sat down on a creaky wooden stool, making his back ache with the absence of a rest. It would suffice for the night.  
  
Sekapook walked over with his ludicrous portion of food. Little bits of it fell of the plate and onto the floor, leaving a trail of it from the table to where he sat, on Nigrowb's right. When they made themselves comfortable, a girl glided up to them holding goblets. She obligingly placed one with both men, then filled them up from a keg another woman held. She smiled, then made her way away to another sitting couple.  
  
Sekapook picked up his goblet. He sniffed the liquid inside, which smelled tingly and fruity. He gulped a mouthful. Then he spat it out before him, spraying it over the floor. 'Yeugh!' He exclaimed. 'Who drinks this rubbish?'  
  
Nigrowb picked up his goblet, and took a sip. It was very tingly on the tongue, and burned down his throat. Yet he felt a great experience of flavors in his mouth and through his nose. His head felt a little fuzzy, too, before it dissipated and he felt calmer. He smiled. 'Oh, I don't know. I think it's quite nice.'  
  
They looked around the tables beside them and opposite them. Some fat men had sat down first, along with a few soldiers and their wives. It was still pretty sparse, since the others were still getting their food. At the far end of the market Square, sat on two individual tables, Nigrowb could see Adeel and Ganondorf. From what he could see they had already started gorging on their food, and little bones were being thrown from their plates onto the floor. If this was such a big occasion, Nigrowb wondered, why weren't those places occupied by the King and Queen of Hyrule? Neither of them have seen them at all since they first arrived here.  
  
'Hello fellas.' A familiar voice said to them from the left. Nigrowb and Sekapook both looked, and saw Valser sit himself down besides them. On his far side, away from them, Johannah took a seat. They too had plates of food, though Johannah's was very small and consisted mainly of fruit.  
  
'Hi Valser.' Nigrowb replied.   
  
'Hello, Johannah.' Sekapook added enthusiastically, with a smile. He admired her delicate dress, with a shoulder cut top and politely revealing her top. She was wearing her silk gloves again.   
  
Johannah smiled back to him. 'Hello, Sekapook.' She answered back. Somehow, she could tell the difference between the two, which nobody else has managed so far. 'I heard that you were saved today from Volvagia.'  
  
Sekapook averted his gaze, to his plate. 'Yes. It was Jon who pushed me out of the way.'  
  
Johannah shared his pain slightly, felling a little down. 'I know. It's a tragedy that he's no longer with us. But at least we're okay.'  
  
That cheered Sekapook up tremendously. Again she had spoken words of greater truth than she knew. They were here, after all, to protect her. And Valser. Not that he needed much protection.  
  
Actually, Valser was staring into the flame of a torch with deep concentration. Nigrowb looked at his face, trying to understand what he was thinking. But lord knew what was going through his mind, so he paid no more attention to it.  
  
The group of people who had gathered in the center now moved out in a group. They saw the tables now with the majority of the spaces occupied, so they began their dancing. It was a very slow beginning to the dance, with wavy movements of the girl's arms and hips. Their pieces of cloth slowly spun around them like colored mist, making their shapely bodies more alluring. They moved their hips with exaggerated sways and gyrations. If you closed your eyes half- closed, they were like wisps of smoke dancing around the fires. It made Nigrowb and Sekapook dreamy and sleepy, which was helped by the mellow drumbeats and chimes played by musicians behind them.   
  
Nigrowb picked up a piece of something from his plate. He bit at the skin of it and peeled it off, then chewed it. At that moment, Sekapook immediately delved into his plate of food, cramming meaty chunks and pieces of fruit into his mouth, then trying his best to chew it. He was ravenous, he explained.  
  
'I don't think I can go back to eating raw meat.' Nigrowb commented.  
  
Sekapook sucked his fingers clean of juices. 'Well, maybe we could roast our food before we eat it, with our breath.'  
  
'Pardon?' Valser broke out of his trance, glancing at Nigrowb and Sekapook.  
  
Nigrowb quickly turned his head. 'Oh... no- nothing.' He stuttered.   
  
Valser gazed more. He was seriously thinking about something. Then, he turned to Johannah, and whispered to her. She looked back at him and gasped, then whispered to him. They held a little conversation, then they kissed each other on the lips.  
  
Then, Valser reached down to his pocket, pulled out a little leather pouch and picked out a red rupee. He nudged Nigrowb. 'Do you mind staying at the hotel tonight?' He asked politely.  
  
Sekapook leaned forward to look at them. Johannah giggled. 'The hotel? Why?' Nigrowb asked back.  
  
Valser kept silent, and stared at Nigrowb in the eyes.  
  
Then Nigrowb caught on - perhaps. 'Oh. Okay.' Nigrowb kept silent.  
  
'Well. That's all for us tonight.' Valser finished another bite of his food, then stood up from the chair. He stepped over it to get out, and was followed by Johannah. Then Valser walked away.  
  
Before they disappeared from sight, Johannah looked back to Nigrowb and Sekapook. 'I'll see you tomorrow.' She said. She was smiling greatly. Then, she walked away, up with Valser. They held hands as they disappeared into the darkness.  
  
Sekapook looked at Nigrowb. 'What was that all about?' He hissed.  
  
Nigrowb slowly exchanged a glance with Sekapook. 'My friend.' He concluded with a serious face. 'I think that was about ......Link.'  
  
RECOGNITION  
  
Nigrowb's speculation was right. They went to stay to the hotel for the night, and managed to get the room they had gotten on the first night. When they met Valser and Johannah for the next time, both were incredibly happy. They were trying for a child.  
  
Valser had spent the last night at the party thinking about what Nigrowb and Sekapook were talking about before, at the battle. He thought about those who had died, and that someday, his time may come also. He had never thought about it before, but he did take pride in his weapon skills - he had fought many creatures and people for the Hylian army, witnessed the rise and fall of a couple of the higher ranking officers, and was eventually promoted to lieutenant. He met Johannah once on patrol in the Market square, and it was love at first sight.  
  
The point was, he wasn't getting younger. He needed a son to carry on with his fighting skills, but to be truthful he needed any child to bring up. Being in the army, there was the ever- looming threat that he may be killed during battle. That would leave Johannah devastated, and he didn't really want that. but with a child she would at least have family to care for, family to love.  
  
.... Well, maybe Valser wasn't too brilliant at explaining his reasons, but he desperately wanted a child now. And now his child was on the way.   
  
A few months passed, and Nigrowb and Sekapook continued their work between Valser and Johannah. When they returned to the castle, Adeel had a serious talk with them. He had been curious about them since their charades in the training grounds a few weeks back, and their remarkable talents within their battle with Volvagia the other day. Adeel didn't know that only Nigrowb had been bestowed with these powers - or, if they both had it, Sekapook couldn't manage to execute it - but Adeel wasn't bright enough to tell the difference between them, so he elected both of them for the duty. For they are now members of the Hylian guards patrol - Special Forces. This was only awarded to people with outstanding talents in their league, or with unusual cases. It also meant that they had more rights to privileges that normal men of their rank don't have. Valser had these privileges too, though he was wary of using them in case there was nobody to replace his position. Plus, his rank of Lieutenant had all the rights he needed, so he hardly bent the rules.  
  
Nigrowb and Sekapook, however, were a little enthusiastic in using their Special Forces powers bestowed upon them. They had to take some days off of their routine training and patrol, to stay at home with Johannah and help her. She was slightly bulging in her midriff, as the baby grew and grew with every passing week. Valser suggested that she should be resting easily, and letting the other two do the work around the house. Sekapook went to the market to buy food and things for her (from a list she would write) and Nigrowb would look after the house and make sure it stayed clean. Of course, as Nigrowb pranced around the house in an embarrassing manner with a duster, some things would fall to the floor and break. Johannah found it funny when Nigrowb reached for a little cobweb in the upper corner of the ceiling, and stumble off of the stool he was standing on and fall to the floor. She truly appreciated their help, though she was still able to create some good meals for them in the evenings.   
  
It was evening again. Johannah was asleep in the main bedroom, as Valser pestered her to go to bed early. She did explain that she was only three months pregnant, and it wasn't quite necessary for him to fuss about her yet, but his word was final. She was fast in a deep sleep, with no snoring, under her sheets.  
  
Nigrowb and Sekapook were in the main room of the house, and tired. Running around all day collecting items from the shops and keeping the house clean was incredibly hard work. Not hard, as in the sense of trying to keep alive as two giant monsters were trying to separate you from your skin, but hard in a smaller, yet more weary way. It certainly made them both sweat a lot, as Nigrowb wiped the brow of his forehead with his arm.   
  
'So where did Valser say he was?' Sekapook pondered.  
  
Nigrowb looked up from the chair. 'I think he said he was on patrol tonight.' He looked around the tables and bookcases, all cleaned free of unsightly dust. 'Either way, I hope he doesn't make a mess of this. I spent ages tidying this up.'  
  
Sekapook shrugged. 'Yeah, but it's for Johannah - the mother of he Hero of Time, no less.'   
  
'Actually.' Nigrowb sighed. 'I've been thinking.'  
  
Sekapook dragged a chair up to his behind, and sat on it. He faced Nigrowb. 'You never mean good thoughts when you say 'I've been thinking', like that.' He joked.  
  
'Well, it isn't that serious. But it might screw up our plans.' He leaned back further on the chair, resting his back. He smiled a dreamy smile, relishing the pleasure he was experiencing of a good rest. Then, he looked at Sekapook. 'Suppose that isn't Link?'  
  
'What?'  
  
'Suppose, we've been spending all this time, months of our lives, with a completely insubstantial couple? We don't know for absolute, one hundred percent sure that these are his parents.'  
  
'Come off it!' Sekapook snapped. 'It's a great coincidence if they weren't his parents! She looks like him, he has his fighting skills, both can find their way through different terrain....'  
  
'Find their way? How did you come to that conclusion?' Nigrowb questioned.  
  
'Well, look. The very first time we found her months ago, she took us out of the forest into Hyrule Field. She definitely knew her way around, Nigrowb.'  
  
Nigrowb nodded in acceptance. He leaned forward again. 'But that's exactly what I mean. We've accustomed these two to be Link's parents too much. For all we know, the boy might be alive in a different region of Hyrule trying to fend for his life. He might even be......'  
  
'No.' Sekapook said quickly.  
  
Nigrowb stopped again. He thought through this really hard. He folded his arms over and stared forward into deep space. Trying to come up with a solution to a problem he himself bought up. 'I don't know.' He admitted. 'I.. I'm just still confused about our part in this. We haven't progressed any further, we haven't found Link yet, and we still haven't found his assassin.'  
  
Sekapook leaned forward. 'The people from the Sacred realm DID say that we would know who his mother was, the moment we saw her.'  
  
Nigrowb remembered. That was the case, and he now accepted the fact. They both had a strong belief that Johannah resembled Link, and that must have meant that they found her. That part was true. But he was still nervous about the outcome. He was nervous about whether or not this would all come true, or turn out right in the end. He was nervous because they had to protect Link, his mother and his father. He was nervous about the notion of failing their task. They might not be able to prevent history from being changed, or end up dead themselves. It would all boil down to one moment. The question was.... When? When would the moment arrive?  
  
'Well, I think we had better get some sleep.' Sekapook concluded. 'Johannah's probably got a whole list more of chores for us to do.'  
  
Nigrowb smiled weakly. 'Yeah, you've go a point.' He yawned as he remembered how tired he was.  
  
They both made themselves comfortable within the room. Previously they had a room to share upstairs, but that was being turned into the child's bedroom. So they were moved to down here, where there was enough space for them. On the floor. The cold, hard floor. Oh well.  
  
Sekapook rolled onto his back. He undid his chest plate, and took it off. They were just about getting the hang of removing some of their apparel before sleeping, which they noticed reduced their aches in the mornings. They pulled whatever sheets they had with them over them, and settled down to sleep. They both closed their eyes, slowly, and tried to shut off from the world around them.  
  
"Come to the Kokhiri Forest, o brave defenders......."  
  
Nigrowb opened his eyes. He leaned up and looked around the room. It was gray and drab from the darkness of the night. Nobody was there. Wearily, he settled down again. He closed his eyes.  
  
"Leave the house. I have urgent news for thou......."  
  
Nigrowb got up again. He stayed sitting up for a long time, in the darkness.  
  
He kicked Sekapook with his foot. 'Sekapook. Wake up.' He whispered.  
  
'I've been awake for ages.' He whispered back.  
  
'So you heard the voices too?' He asked.  
  
'Yeah.'  
  
"Please. I beg you. It is for your benefit......."  
  
Nigrowb jumped that time. 'Did you...?'  
  
'uh- huh' Sekapook nodded. He leaned up now, looking around the room. Nobody was there.  
  
Nigrowb got up silently. He put his chest plate on and his boots. Sekapook followed afterwards. They tip- toed to the doorway, and let themselves out. They made absolute sure the door didn't creak when they closed it tight.  
  
Outside, it was silent. A dog cantered along the path to their left, to a little rubbish pile. He sank into darkness under the shadow of the houses. Up in the sky, the full moon cast its dim light over the starry, cloudless sky, to the ground.  
  
They made their way out of the alley, into the marketplace. In the quietness of the town, no guards were in sight. This was fortunate. They quickly stepped to the path leading up to the drawbridge and ran down it, as silently as possible.  
  
Both stopped in their tracks - the drawbridge was risen. They knew how to lower it, but doing that might arouse suspicions, which was the last thing they wanted.   
  
But Sekapook was already devising a solution. He made his way to the side of the moat wall, a fair pace away from the office drawbridge watch tower. As he walked up to it, he pulled off one of the spiky straps from around his arms. One half of it, the half that was in contact with the body, was smooth, so only the other half had spikes arranged in it.  
  
With this strap, he tied it firmly around his hand with the spikes facing inwards. He did the same with the other hand. Afterwards, he faced the wall with a look of determination on his face.  
  
'Watch.' He whispered. He walked up to it, and smacked his open- palmed hand into the wall. The spikes dug in to the hard granite bricks of the wall with surprising, astonishing ease. Nigrowb did a double take as he saw it happen.  
  
Nigrowb pelted his other hand into the wall, higher up. It too embedded itself in. He yanked out the other hand and lifted a leg up to rest on whatever there was sticking out. With that, he forced his hand into the wall again. And so, he continued this peculiar action until he was well over half- way up the wall.  
  
He looked down. 'Aren't you coming, Nigrowb?' He called down, quietly.  
  
Nigrowb undid the spiky straps around his arm, and wrapped them around his hands like Sekapook did. He walked up to the wall, and, with much delay, skepticism and ruffling of hands, he pushed his hand into the wall.  
  
The spikes on his hand scraped over the stone bricks of the castle wall, leaving a little shiny scratch on its surface.  
  
'What's taking you so long?' Sekapook huffed.  
  
Nigrowb was a little rueful. 'I can't seem to do it.' He said bashfully.  
  
Sekapook continued up to the top of the wall, ignoring Nigrowb. 'I'm sure the guards leave provisionary equipment along the tops of the castles for the guards. Perhaps there's a rope in them.'  
  
Nigrowb waited. He stared up to Sekapook, who finally pulled himself over the brink of the wall, out of sight. His gaze lowered down the side of the wall, to directly before him.  
  
Then, he looked closer. The holes Sekapook had made were still there, with four neat round little holes stuck in rows, all up the side of the wall. He wedged his fingers into them, and found that they fit, perfectly. With enthusiasm he reached up for the next group of holes, and grabbed them with similar strength. He pulled himself up.   
  
Sekapook looked over the wall, to the expanse of Hyrule. It was calm and tranquil. Crickets chirped, and small night time birds called from the far- off trees in the distance. On a fairly raised bit of the area, to the right, a mansion was being built. He wondered what that could be.  
  
He remembered the reason he was up here, and began looking around. Unfortunately nothing was here, no weapons, no rope, not a thing. He slowly turned around to lean back over the wall to tell Nigrowb the bad news.  
  
When suddenly, he found Nigrowb standing right behind him. 'Surprised to see me?' He said, smug.  
  
'How......' He scratched his head.  
  
'Just climbed up the holes you left behind.' Nigrowb chirped. He walked slowly to the edge of the wall facing the night time scenery of Hyrule. 'How do we get down now?'  
  
Sekapook looked around. At the base of the wall, the moat laid. The water slowly gushed around the sides of the walls, occasionally rippling the slight reflection of the sky. Without hesitation, he leapt off of the edge, into the water. He plopped in with a silent splash. Nigrowb watched with anticipation.  
  
As Sekapook bobbed his head out of the water, Nigrowb shrugged to himself, then leapt off into the water. He fell in with a silent splash, too. The water was freezing and he felt bubbles tickle him as he rose to the surface, but he survived. The moat was deeper than it looked.  
  
'Come on. Let's go to the forest.' Nigrowb whispered when they pulled themselves to dry land. They shook their hair clean and walked into the vast expanse of Hyrule field.  
  
From the outside, a guard watched them walk off.  
  
Neither of them had ever been near the Kokhiri forest. Valser had pointed it out to be somewhere in the southeast of Hyrule, but they went nowhere near the vicinity. They didn't need to, since they very rarely left the town. So from beyond the small lake that they had seen before on the first day, everything was new to them. The trees grew larger in number, and they began to curl over themselves, over well beaten paths across the field. Eventually they came to the very beginnings of the main forest area - a huge treetrunk, dislodged in the rocky wall, and completely hollow. With care they walked through it. It smelled of fungi and damp wood, which it would do considering it's a dead tree.  
  
The opposite end was shrouded in darkness, stopping them seeing what was out of the other side. Bravely traversing through the trunk, they eventually came out of the other side - they knew this because their feet were on soft grass when they walked, which didn't make the tapping noise they kept hearing through the log. They certainly couldn't tell, however, by looking around.   
  
Everything was dark. Looking upwards, the sky was relatively light in comparison, with all of the stars and illuminated clouds. The animal calls were louder here than before, with owl hoots and birds twittering, plus the ever- present insect noises. But they couldn't see a thing. Not a bit of the woodland area was lit with any of the dull moonlight that allowed them to get this far.   
  
'We're lost.' Sekapook commented.  
  
Standing on the spot, they waited. There was nothing they could do, they had no means of illumination, no torches, and they couldn't wait until daytime. They were stuck.  
  
When suddenly, a tiny red glow appeared before them, far away in the distance. With incredible speed the little glowing object rushed up towards them. As it passed through forest area, the light briefly illuminated bushes and trees in its way. It darted behind others, and zig- zagged through the rest. Eventually, it came to meet them.  
  
Silently it hung in the air, waiting for any reactions as Nigrowb and Sekapook were doing the same. They looked around the area they were standing in, now cast upon by a soft red glow. They were actually on a rope bridge leading across to another hollow tree trunk. Below the rope bridge was a darker area which the red glow didn't reach, and trees stuck out from around the bridge up towards the sky.  
  
They felt a little embarrassed - after all, they only had to walk forward to carry on - but still, better to be safe than sorry. Without saying anything, the little glowing Faerie floated away from them. They followed it, to the tree trunk.  
  
Coming out of the other side, they were in a much larger place. The glow didn't reach very far, so they couldn't see what was around here. But the Faerie led them onwards, with Nigrowb and Sekapook behind it. They were almost like a pair of Zombies staring straight at the little glowing Faerie and shuffling slowly forward.  
  
Their feet got wet. Looking down, they saw that they were standing in water. This was the beginnings of a little pond.  
  
The Faerie paused. 'Please use the stepping stones to cross.' She informed them. She floated over to a few flat round stones, weaving their way over the water.  
  
They walked up to them, and Nigrowb stepped on one. It was firmly stuck into the ground, and was safe for them to use. He leapt over to another one, then another. Sekapook came following behind after him. They went on over the stones, across the small pond (too small to drown in) and came to dry land again. Without hesitation the Faerie continued onwards.  
  
They moved their way out of the large open area and into a little narrow path. Trees were tightly packed on either side of them, and through them was only darkness. The only way to go was forward, with the Faerie. So they did. Whatever they were being lead to.  
  
The path was very short through the thick forestry, and they only had a couple of turns through it. But as they came out of the area, it was already illuminated by itself. It was also, notably, moist. The air was quite warm and wet. And the area was huge, with overhanging bushes and vines all around the sides of it. It had to be big, for in the very center of it stood an absolutely mammoth tree. It wasn't the tallest tree either of them had seen, but it was incredibly wide at the base.  
  
The Faerie flew away from the men, up to the tree. They noticed something very peculiar about the tree - it had a face. Two giant wide holes and an extending bump below them suggested eyes and nose. It even had a moustache, made of two more giant wide bumps on the surface of the tree bark.  
  
'Great Deku tree.' The Faerie summoned. 'They are here now.'  
  
The tree didn't move, nor speak. Yet it talked to them. 'Thou hath arrived.' It bellowed softly. It had the voice of an incredibly old man, and spoke in a mixture of old style and new style Hylian.  
  
Nigrowb stepped forward. 'What do you want from us, tree?' He called out to him.  
  
'Thou are succeeding with your task, creature of two minds.' The tree spoke. 'I am here to pass to you the words of the gods which sent you.'  
  
But both men were a little shocked. Could this tree know their secret...?  
  
'I know your true selves, monster.' The Deku tree confirmed. 'Your human forms cannot fool me.'  
  
'How did you know..?' Sekapook questioned.  
  
'The gods tell me during my slumber. I am a doorway to their fountain of knowledge, which I pass on to the children of the forest.' He paused. 'Now listen carefully, for I shall tell thee further of your quest.'  
  
Both men sat down on the floor, preparing themselves for its information. Without further questioning, the tree began.  
  
'Verily, thou were puzzled by the questions which thine minds bought to reason. You are feeling unsure of your place in this time and place, without a righteous confirmation of your fulfillment.'  
  
The tree was silent. It expected them to answer. Eventually, Nigrowb did. 'We are becoming more frustrated over time. We already begin to doubt how our own existence will work now, already severed from it for four months.'  
  
'Yay, the gods informed me that thou art sacrificing your own lives merely being here. They are truly appreciative of a person of noble caliber as you.'  
  
The Deku Tree was speaking to both of them as if they were one again, or NigSek. They seemed to really feel comfortable with this, so they were more relaxed. But..... 'Are we heading on the right path with our work?' Nigrowb asked.  
  
'Yes. Everything is exactly as it should be. Thou were right to stay with instincts with the beginning, for Johannah and Valser Ruth are, indeed, the parents of the Hero of Time. Within another six months, Johannah will give birth to a boy. That child is him.'  
  
'So it IS him.' Sekapook mentioned, giving a glance to Nigrowb. Nigrowb pouted.  
  
'However, thine work shall be tested to its peak after. For the silent assassin shall arrive. He shall bring havoc upon the whole of Hyrule with him, and he shall attempt to murder the young hero soon after. You must protect him with your own lives.'  
  
'We shall do our absolute best.' Nigrowb recited. Then he went a little nervous. 'Will we be able to stop him, though? Who is it?'  
  
The Deku Tree was silent. 'You will know him when you see him. You have crossed paths before.....'  
  
'AH!' Sekapook clicked his fingers. 'Ganondorf, right?'  
  
'No. It is not the thief of the desert, despite his evil intentions. He has nothing in participation of the child's demise.'  
  
'Oh.' Then Ganondorf really was innocent. He WAS evil, and he WOULD try to stop Link when he was born - but his time wasn't yet. He would simply follow his life like normal at the moment. They couldn't think of anyone else from mind who would try and stop Link. 'Then, who could it be?' He pondered.  
  
'I do not know.' The Deku Tree said darkly. 'But you do.'  
  
They were all silent again, for a moment. Then, Nigrowb asked. 'Will we be able to defeat him when he comes?' That was a bit of a stupid question, he thought, but he might as well ask it.  
  
'That is not for me to say.' The Deku Tree replied. 'I am only here to guide you, not to foresee the future, which is beyond my powers. However, you are physically capable of protecting the Hero of Time from him, using your powers.'  
  
Nigrowb's face brightened. He smiled a beaming smile, and Sekapook watched him. 'You know our hidden powers, perhaps?' He asked the tree excitedly.  
  
'Yes! That is the last thing I need to tell thee. Both of you.'  
  
Sekapook, and Nigrowb, both listened with a great curiosity. One of their unanswered questions was about to be answered.  
  
'Nigrowb and Sekapook, thou hath the power of strength within you, remnants of your original form concealed within yourself. Anger and commitment are both the keys to unlocking them, and you both have each power. I am sure Nigrowb has had much experience with one of these, yet Sekapook has only discovered his on this night.'  
  
Sekapook wondered what he meant. He thought of everything that he did tonight - waking up, getting out of the house, escaping over the walls of Hyrule Castle Town...... hang on. That was it!  
  
'Me climbing up the wall!' He exclaimed. 'That's one of my powers in action!'  
  
The Deku tree was still immobile, yet his voice had the tone of a smile. 'That is true. Both of you have these powers. Both of you have discovered them. But only one of you can operate one power with ease.'  
  
Nigrowb was a little puzzled. 'What do you mean by that?'  
  
'Strong of minds thou both are. Opposites of one mind. Different thoughts provoke different reactions. You have the potential to call upon Sekapook's powers, Nigrowb, yet within practice you can only accomplish one, because the powers are operated upon feelings alone. You care more for people than Sekapook does, so feel frustrated when those pass away. Frustration leads to your power. Sekapook is the opposite. He is based around strength of body, and with that comes a self confidence to finish the tasks at hand. Confidence leads to Sekapook's powers.'  
  
'You did not quite answer my question, Deku Tree.' Nigrowb reminded him, keeping a notion of respect for his great knowledge. 'We wanted to know what our powers do.'  
  
'Nay, I shall explain now.' The tree began again. 'With frustration, a burning anger fills the soul. With that power, thou can unleash it to use in battle as explosive power. Weapons you hold within your hands are charged with this aura, and can be used to smite thine enemies.'  
  
'Oh.' Nigrowb understood. 'And Sekapook's?'  
  
'His power rest within his confidence. With the mental ability to overcome impossible tasks in his mind, thou gain the means to accomplish this. Great strength can overcome many boundaries you come upon.'  
  
'Ah, I see.' Sekapook added. 'So if I was determined enough, I can push mountains, or uproot tall trees, or....'  
  
'Haste thee, noble gentleman. Thou need to explain no further!' The Deku tree joked. He was spooked by his suggestion involving the trees, attempting to make a funny gesture.  
  
'So we are now ready to confront the impending danger?' Nigrowb continued.  
  
'Do not be too sure of chances.' The Tree warned. 'Though you have now unlocked the secrets to your powers, you have yet to fully master them. Also, you need more than strength and fire to save the great child. It shall become apparent when the time comes. And now, all I can give your is my support, which is all I can do.'  
  
Nigrowb and Sekapook slowly nodded, moving away from the tree. 'So this is farewell, Deku Tree.'  
  
'Yes. I am sure we shall meet, sometime in the near future. Goodbye, NigSek.'  
  
That made their heads turned. In the darkness they moved into, they smiled to the tree and waved to it. Then they turned around, and walked away, around the corner.  
  
Both of them were now feeling a confidence they had almost forgotten. They were on their way to completing their task, and they had a few months to go before they would come to the conclusion. They weren't even the slightest bit worried whether or not they would succeed. They were just fired up with the words of the Deku Tree, to have someone who at least knew about them to give them words to help them. That way, they didn't feel completely.... Alone, in this world.  
  
The Faerie flew from the Deku Tree, to guide them out through the forest. As they walked along, the glow of the Faerie illuminated the scenery close to them again. And a guard. It was Valser.  
  
Sekapook and Nigrowb were stunned. They became hot under the collar. 'Oh..... he.. hello, Valser.' They welcomed weakly.  
  
Valser wasn't pleased. He had his arms folded across his front. He looked at them from under the rim of the helmet. 'What's going on, Nigrowb and Sekapook?' He asked crossly. 'Or, should I say, NigSek?'  
  
Both of them looked around frantically. He had followed them to the Kokhiri forest. 'H- how much of that conversation did you- '  
  
'All of it.' He answered before Sekapook finished. 'Now tell me what I want to hear. Who are you, really?'  
  
Nigrowb sighed. It seemed too good to be true, this subject about their hidden realities. They couldn't get out of it, and had to explain. 'You promise, as a friend, not to tell a single soul outside of us....' He looked around, counting the people, including the listening Faerie. '...four people?'  
  
Valser calmed down slightly, but he still had a deep awareness about these two people. 'Continue.' He urged.  
  
Nigrowb began. 'We come from the future. We cannot remember exactly how far ahead, but it's at least twenty years. It involves your son.....'  
  
'Yes, yes. I heard about it involving my son. What is the great interest in my own child, enough to bring you to this time?'  
  
Sekapook continued. 'Well, remember when we told you that we were looking for someone, and their assassin?' He saw Valser nodding his head. 'There was no lie in that. We are here to prevent the premature death of your son - Link, the Hero of Time, the greatest adventurer that Hyrule has ever seen.'  
  
Valser was a little taken back by this. His own son, the greatest man alive? He was flattered. 'My son..... the Hero of Time? But I never gained such a title myself.'  
  
'Nothing has been said about his parents, just the man himself.' Nigrowb explained.  
  
Valser thought hard, then patted Sekapook on the shoulder. 'Come, explain to me on the way home.' They started to walk over the large area again, guided by the Faerie.   
  
As they walked, they continued their conversation, this time with Nigrowb narrating. 'Link has been on many adventures over the great expanse of Hyrule. He has fought many monsters, and solved many ancient riddles.....'  
  
Sekapook realized something. 'And you remember our interest in Gannondorf Dragmire, the Gerudo General of the Hyrule army?'  
  
'Yes.'  
  
'Well, we were wary of him because of his future in Hyrule - which is our past. He transforms into the hideous monster Ganon, and tries to steal the Triforce from the Sacred realm, and......'  
  
'Wait wait wait.' Valser interrupted, holding his hands up. 'I only want to know about you and your involvement with my son.'  
  
Nigrowb began again. 'We were told about these tales by your son, because we ourselves don't come from Hyrule, as you know (which is still the truth). We come from a land far from Hyrule, across the sea.'  
  
Valser scratched his head - or rather, rubbed his metal helmet in the same suggestion of bafflement. 'The sea? What's that?'  
  
Nigrowb paused. 'Never mind. The point is, Link had visited our land upon his many adventures, and saved it from certain doom. He almost killed me along the way, too. Or I nearly killed him...'  
  
'You both tried to kill my son?' Valser exclaimed.  
  
'Not quite. We were the same person then. Or monster.'  
  
'Oh, so you were two monsters sent to kill him, not knowing otherwise, eh? So what kind of clan is the 'NigSek'?'  
  
Nigrowb and Sekapook exchanged glances. 'Not quite. We were one monster.'  
  
Valser frowned. 'I don't understand.' He said. They had been lead out of the forest area, into the Hyrule field. They were all now bathed in the milky light of the moon again.  
  
'We are not two separate monsters. We are not even two separate people. We are two halves of one animal. You know the way that, sometimes, when you're thinking hard you hear two different voices arguing in your head about something, one voice disagreeing with everything the other voice says?'  
  
Valser slowly smiled. He looked at both of them in turn. 'Very, very clever way of putting it, Nigrowb. Er, Sekapook?'  
  
Nigrowb smiled back. 'You had it right the first time. Well, basically we are those two voices. We belong to one animal, called NigSek. We were separated from the original monster when we were sent back to here.'  
  
Valser looked up and down both of them in turn again. He stood at the more- or- less the same height as them. 'But what exactly IS a NigSek?' He asked again.  
  
Sekapook took the pleasure of answering. 'I can't really explain. I'm a sort of dragon, abut eight feet tall, with a spiny shell and four arms and a wide head, full of teeth. Not to be boastful, but I'm quite intimidating.'  
  
Nigrowb suddenly realized how weird it feels to have an explanation of yourself, by yourself, in a different body. But Valser was impressed. 'I.... Can't say I've ever had the privilege of meeting a NigSek before.' He joked. 'But, why were you separated? Couldn't you both travel back in the one form?'  
  
'It was decided to be too hazardous.' Nigrowb explained. 'Our talent of the minds were so strong, that on occasions we could split our head into two separate parts and talk to people like that.'  
  
Sekapook started laughing. 'You should have seen the look on your son's face when he saw that for the first time!' He laughed.  
  
'But the point is, our two halves of the mind were so unique that it wasn't thought safe to merge them together into one person, else it would threaten the sanity of the human us. In the end, we elected to go back in two forms.'  
  
Valser accepted this. It sounded reasonable to him. 'So, what happened in the future, to make you come here?'  
  
Both of them shrugged. 'We simply don't know. The gods and goddesses told us that Link had disappeared from time, and that it was the result of a change in history in the past. Perhaps that someone prevented Link from being born, or that Link was murdered as a defenseless child. We simply haven't a clue.'  
  
'So that's why.....' His eyes glazed over. 'Johannah.' He breathed. 'You've been trying to protect her from injury!'  
  
'That's right.' Sekapook admitted. 'Trying to be with her since day one, when we met her in the forest and saw her hit her head on the tree, due to the Skull o' Wind.'  
  
'So that's why you've shown so much interest in looking after us - well, Johannah, anyway.'  
  
'If we had to, we would put our lives on the line for you too, Valser.' Nigrowb looked deadly serious into Valser's eyes. His eyes were impossible to see in the darkness, but he could see the bright reflection of the moon in them.  
  
'Nigrowb. Sekapook.' He looked at them once again in turn. 'I doubt I will ever meet a monster, or indeed person, as loyal as you two. Or one.'  
  
They appreciated his comment. But now, the terrible thought, the horrible notion about the day came to them. 'We still have a lot of work to do.' Nigrowb mentioned. 'We are far from safe.'  
  
Valser nodded, looking frank. 'Your quest isn't over for a while yet. But I'll help as much as I can.'  
  
Sekapook remember one last thing. 'We do know another fact from the future, which Link told us...'  
  
Valser quickly shook his head. 'No more. Please. I know far enough already. Your secret is safe within me, no more about it.'  
  
Nigrowb didn't need to ask about what Sekapook remembered. He knew all too well what it was that Link told them, and they didn't really want to think about it. About his upbringing...  
  
BIRTH  
  
That night, the night that Valser knew what Nigrowb and Sekapook concealed, came and passed in the blink of an eye. Valser kept his promise, and not even Johannah knew the truth. Everyone continued with their work as normal, with Nigrowb and Sekapook taking more absence leave from their positions to help with Johannah's jobs around the house. When months passed by, Johannah's baby grew and grew, and she donned a rotund bulge with her, where her slim body once was. She wasn't allowed to walk for very far, which Nigrowb and Sekapook made sure of because of the work she got them to do. She still managed to get out on occasions to walk around the outsides of the courtyards of the castle. At least here she could marvel at the beautiful beds of colored patches of flowers. The beautiful surroundings, which changed over the months they were here. Nights increased in length, blizzards of snow came and passed, celebrations of the new year were organized and were respectfully celebrated. Nigrowb and Sekapook enjoyed these evening feasts and dances exceedingly. A few times however, Nigrowb was drunk on the drink served up in those celebrations, even though they didn't know what it was that they WERE drinking - they never asked, since it seemed mandatory that you knew what it was. Nevertheless, Nigrowb enjoyed it more, and Sekapook continuously turned his nose up from any goblets of 'the foul- tasting stuff' served to him.  
  
Of course, there were many more problems besides that over the months. Some guards, for a start, questioned Valser, Nigrowb and Sekapook when one of their routine checks raised the question of a handful of neatly made incisions in the castle wall. It might give escaping prisoners a means of escape, should they ever break out of the confines of the prison cells. As punishment handed out by Adeel, Nigrowb and Sekapook spent a couple of weeks filling in the holes they made that night, then wash the whole of the Hylian walls. It was murder on the hands and back, but they got it over and done with. It was worth it, for the sake of their own sanity. Plus, Adeel's concern of their recent time off of duty was bought about to their attention, but that was settled once they explained that they were taking care of Valser's pregnant wife. He was still miffed about why both of them needed to take the days off, but he was understanding when a child will be born to a family. He had a soft spot for that kind of thing which doesn't regularly show. It was fortunate that it took the better of him. And many days the castle was shut off entirely from training practice. A few rumors were spreading that the Queen was trying for a baby, too. Quite coincidental to have happened at the same time as Johannah's pregnancy. But apart from that, and fending off hordes of Tamorans, Skull o' Winds, Moblins, Octoroks and the occasional Stalchild from the outer region of Hyrule Castle Town, everything was like a normal living life. In other words, nothing to worry about.  
  
It was one day when Nigrowb and Sekapook were on patrol in the town Market square when Valser ran to them. 'I think you need to come with me. Now.' He wheezed.  
  
They were taken back by the urgency in which he said that. 'Now? How come?'  
  
'It's Johannah - she's in labor.'  
  
Without any more questions they all ran home. But as they came to the door, Valser blocked them off with his arm. 'We're not actually allowed in, though. The midwife doesn't like it.'  
  
They were surprised, but they took that in to their stride. They stood outside. Valser opened the door, and walked in. No noise came from inside when the door was momentarily open.  
  
Nigrowb and Sekapook waited, and waited, and waited. They got incredibly tense with anticipation, but also bored with waiting. They paced up and down outside in the alley, and sat down and looked around countless times outside. The wait was unbearable.  
  
'So this is it.' Nigrowb commented, breaking the silence. 'The time we've been waiting for.'  
  
'Yes.' Sekapook agreed. They couldn't really talk about much, since it was all idle talk anyway.  
  
Nigrowb looked deep into the sky above, whatever they could see of it from down in the alley, with the sloping parts of the roofs sticking out. It was a clear, pleasant blue sky, and he didn't see any clouds or such.  
  
'Hey Nigrowb.' Sekapook began. 'Have you ever wondered who our mother was, or our father?'  
  
'No.' Nigrowb answered truthfully. 'We were born from the creation of ISZAMI. We have no mother or father.'  
  
'Oh yes. I remember now.....' He trailed off, and they went silent again.  
  
Still outside, still waiting. Minutes went by, but it felt like hours crawling past them. They were sure someone would come outside and tell them to come in, so they didn't think for a second on knocking on the door. That would be incredibly rude. But staying outside.... Was.... So..... frustrating.  
  
'Hey Nigrowb.' Sekapook started, again. 'I wonder if we can surprise Link with our knowledge of Hyrule?'  
  
Nigrowb smiled lazily. 'I bet he didn't know about all the dragons that dominated Hyrule.'  
  
'Or about Ganondorf working for the Hylian Army.'  
  
'Yeah.' Nigrowb sniggered. 'That certainly surprised us.'  
  
Listening carefully, they could hear lots of straining, shouting and thundering footsteps from inside the house, as if hundreds of people were running about frantically. It made them even more anxious, not least by the alarming thought of the whole upper part of the house tumbling down.  
  
They saw something up against the wall of the alley. A shadow was edging along the ground, up against the wall. Someone was coming down this alleyway. Both of them turned their heads slowly to look down the alley with drowsy eyes.  
  
A little girl came around the corner, into view. They both smiled. 'Hello Lucy.' They both said drolly.  
  
She walked closer to the doorway of the house, up to the two men. 'Hi Nigrowb, hi Sekapook.' She squeaked in her little voice. 'What're you doing?'  
  
Sekapook wiped his face with the palm of his hand. 'We're just waiting, for Johannah. She's busy upstairs.'  
  
'What's she doing?' Lucy asked innocently.  
  
Nigrowb and Sekapook were about to answer- then stopped. How could they explain this to her? 'She's..... ummmmmmmmmm....' Nigrowb scratched the back of his head.  
  
'She is about to have a new addition to the family. A baby.' Sekapook blurted.  
  
Lucy's face lit up. She gasped. 'She's going to have a baby?!' She exclaimed excitedly. Then she looked confused. 'Where from?'  
  
Before Sekapook could answer, Nigrowb poked him hard in the shoulder. He yelped, then silenced. 'She's being.... Blessed with it. It's coming from heaven.'  
  
But Lucy looked childishly suspicious. 'Are you sure about that?'  
  
They both nodded their heads quickly.  
  
'So if I was to wish for a baby now, I could have one from the heavens?' She then pondered.  
  
Oh. Nigrowb didn't think she was going to ask that. 'Well, not quite. You, er...' He looked around, thinking of a reason behind his explanation. Then, he thought of one. 'You need to have a boy make the same wish with you.'  
  
'But you can't just find a boy to wish with.' Sekapook added. 'You need to be married with this boy. That is why you get married in the first place.'  
  
'Awww, that's forever away.' She sulked, with her arms crossed. They were all a little silent in the alley. Lucy leaned up against the wall with her back facing it, and they could hear nothing but the noise of the feet running around upstairs, in the house.  
  
Lucy thought of something. 'Will it be a boy, or a girl?' She asked out of idleness.  
  
Sekapook looked at her. 'Probably a boy.' He said. He knew it would be a boy, but it created more ignorance if he didn't sound so sure.  
  
She reached into the pocket on her apron and pulled something out. She looked at the little pink egg- shaped doll thing in her hands, squeezing it occasionally to make it squeak. When it squeaked, it sounded like it was saying 'Racky'. She glanced up to the closed window up above her on the house, hen back at the doll.  
  
She reached out with her hand to Nigrowb. 'I want you to give this to Johannah's baby.' She said seriously. 'It's my Rakkii doll. It brings good luck to people.'  
  
Nigrowb took the egg- shaped Rakkii doll. It's two tiny eyes and little crescent smile made Nigrowb smile as he looked at it. He squeezed it, and it muttered it's name in a squeaky voice. 'Why, thank you, Lucy.' He replied. 'That's very generous of you.'  
  
She went a little shy. 'That's okay.' She walked backwards away from them, then skipped down the alley away from the house.   
  
The door handle creaked. Immediately their heads turned to the door. This was it.  
  
Valser's head popped out from behind the door. He had taken his helmet off, showing his blond mess of fuzzy hair. 'You can come see him, now.' He said softly.  
  
Both of them got up and followed Valser in. The sunlight was shining into the house like it normally did, giving the main room a fairly light composition. But of course, today was far from normal. Something very special happened today, and Nigrowb and Sekapook were about to see it.  
  
Valser lead them up the stairs, to their room. A great fat old woman dressed in a white apron opened the door to the bedroom and walked out of it. She was carrying a bowl of water. But they all ignored her quickly, for they were now inside the bedroom.  
  
Johannah was sat up in the bed. The sunlight from the glass pane window shone in to the room at an angle, showing all the little rays of light it produced. There, in Johannah's arms, a little cotton sheet, all wrapped around and creased, laid.  
  
'Wow.' Nigrowb breathed. They both stepped closer to Johannah, who smiled a pleasant smile, as always. The little baby was asleep in her arms, looking as peaceful as it could do. His face was screwed up in little wrinkles, but he still looked beautiful.  
  
Nigrowb and Sekapook were almost about to cry for joy. They had never before seen a newly born baby. It was amazing to think that nine months ago, this little baby didn't even exist. And now it was here, in his mother's arms. It wasn't any magic spell, or conjuring trick that bought him here - it was something so natural that it always existed and always will exist. It was called, the miracle of Life.  
  
This made so much of a difference to what Nigrowb and Sekapook were used to. They had seen so much death and destruction in their lives that it was almost unbearable. Nine months ago they had fought a battle against two dragons, resulting in their deaths and the death of their friend, Jon, who they still missed. Before that, there were the Angels Four, who were killed and who killed others. And even before that, they were eating people for their own living. Not once, in 600- odd years, did they think about the birth of any person, creature or whatever. It was magical. They wanted this feeling to last forever.  
  
'Oh, I almost forgot to tell you.' Johannah remembered. 'It's a boy.'  
  
Nigrowb and Sekapook beamed a smile at her. 'We had a feeling it might be.' They commented. Valser gave them a neutral glance, and raised his eyebrows up.  
  
Johannah looked up to Valser from the bed. 'What shall we name him, darling?' She asked him. As they stared at each other, they kissed on the lips.  
  
'Oh, I don't know.' Valser idly said. Then he looked at the other two again. 'Why don't you ask Nigrowb and Sekapook?'  
  
Nigrowb and Sekapook inwardly chuckled. He was demonstrating his newly found knowledge of their secret, and thus passed it over to them to make the future as right as possible. They both exchanged glances, then looked at Johannah and Valser.  
  
'How about........ Link?' Sekapook suggested.  
  
Hmmmm..... Link.' Johannah pondered. She looked at the face of the baby boy, still fast asleep in her arms. She then looked up to Valser, who was standing right next to her.  
  
Valser shrugged. 'I think Link's a good name for our son.' He agreed.  
  
Johannah rolled her eyes, then nodded. 'So do I, now that I think about it.' She once again gazed into the face of the baby. 'Very well. This child shall henceforth be known, as Link.'  
  
Their faces brightened. They were nearly finished with their task, and this was proved by the naming of the baby child. Now there was one more hurdle to jump over, before they had truly finished.  
  
Nigrowb leaned to Valser. 'Perhaps we should be making our way back to patrol duty now.' He whispered. 'To leave you some personal time with Link.'  
  
'Okay. I'll join you later.' He didn't look up, but was still watching the sleeping baby boy. The child, a mere shadow of what was to come from the Hero of Time.  
  
Nigrowb suddenly remembered the doll in his hand, which he had been holding all of this time. 'Before we go, we've got this to give to Link.' He passed the Rakkii doll to Valser, and he looked at it with a titter. He squeezed it, and heard it squeak its name.  
  
Johannah looked up and at it. 'That looks like Lucy's Rakkii doll.' She noticed.  
  
'Yes. Lucy gave it to us outside, to give to the new baby.'  
  
Johannah's mouth opened. 'She didn't.' She proclaimed. 'How thoughtful of her. I know how much she loves that doll.'  
  
Nigrowb nudged Sekapook towards the door, pointing at it. Hesitantly Sekapook broke his gaze from the mother and child in the bed and made towards the doorway. They closed the door silently behind them. They tip- toed down the stairs, walked silently across the main room, towards the door.  
  
Nigrowb turned the door handle. 'At least now we don't need to be concerned with Adeel on about our time off - I'm sure Johannah can look after herself.'  
  
Nigrowb opened the door. They stepped out into the bright alleyway, still cast with contrasting black shadows from the roofs. The sky was beginning to cloud over, as the sun disappeared behind a light gray, fluffy cloud. When that happened, the contrast of the bright and dark of the alleyway went with it, too.  
  
When that happened, a figure made its presence known from the shadows. Nigrowb and Sekapook suddenly watched this new arrival, in a hooded cloak, stare back at them. Its face was completely hidden under the long overhanging top.  
  
Sekapook took a step towards it. Nothing happened. The figure stayed standing in its position. It moved only slightly, but it didn't look as though it was breathing. Sekapook looked at Nigrowb, and Nigrowb shrugged.  
  
Then Sekapook took another step closer. When he did, the figure's arm flicked with incredible speed to the side, unraveling the sleeve off of his arm, and it was followed by a sharp metallic scraping noise. Sekapook staggered back.  
  
Shocked, Nigrowb caught Sekapook as he fell back. 'Are you alright?' He asked, anxious.  
  
Sekapook breathed heavily. He looked to his chest plate. Lifting his clenched hands away, he saw a small star- shaped piece of metal, neatly embedded into the plating. It didn't penetrate far enough to his skin, but it hit him with an unbelievable strength. He pulled it out with ease, and inspected it. It glinted when he turned it, for it was polished to incredible standards. In fact, he could see his own stubble- induced face in it.  
  
Nigrowb gazed at the figure again. The hand that threw the star was visible, sticking out of the baggy sleeve. It was a dull brown color, three- fingered, and deformed hideously.  
  
'That's right.' It spoke. 'Look. Stare at me.'  
  
Nigrowb slowly screwed his face up in anger. 'You're the one.' He snarled.   
  
'Don't be surprised, worm.' He said with confidence. His voice was like a buzzing of flies, with the pitch of it making up his vocal differences. It was eerily disturbing. 'We would meet before it happens, and you knew it.'  
  
Sekapook rose to his feet, looking similarly angry. 'You are The Silent Assassin sent to kill Link - as a child. How disgusting.'  
  
'You could not wait for him to be at a respectable age for you to murder him?' Nigrowb added. 'You would kill an innocent baby in cold blood, before it could wield its first weapon.'  
  
The uncovered hand gestured. 'I waited for him to reach a normal age to master his own sword - and I met my demise from it . This is merely revenge.'  
  
Nigrowb and Sekapook exchanged glances of puzzlement. What did he mean?  
  
'Do you even know WHO I am?' The figure spoke, with a tone of voice reaching so high it sounded like screaming.  
  
'At least give us that honor, of putting our misery out. Show us your true face!' Demanded Sekapook.  
  
The two hands shook their sleeves free again. 'I shall show you, but not to put your misery to rest. Rather, to add to it.' With that, his clawed hands raised to his hood. As they gripped the sides of the hood, he looked side- on at them. His eyes appeared for a brief second. They were deep red and segmented, like a fly's.  
  
With one fast tug he pulled his hood away from his head, showing his face. The head was much bigger than the hood had suggested, as they saw it uncovered. The head was stretched in a triangular shape, with the back rimmed with large spikes and deep ridges. The front of the mouth ended in two mandibles, which clicked together for a brief second as he stared at them, eye- to- eye.  
  
Utter terror struck them both. Their mouths dropped with shock, and their hands started to shake slightly. 'You...!' Nigrowb whispered.  
  
It was none other than War, one of the four Apocalyptic Angels Four. He was Link's killer.  
  
'Introductions evidently are needed not.' War rasped, through his mandibles.  
  
War. One of the Angels Four which Link defeated in ISZAMI. It was totally unexpected that they would remember him after their demise. But..... 'How is it possible for you to be here? You had to possess a person before. Plus, you died!'  
  
War made a hissing laugh. 'Not this time. Now I am in my own mortal form. I have no confines of a thirteen year old boy to hinder me this time.' He pounded his chest with his fists. 'This is my purest form, mortal in the realm of Hyrule, but in my strongest power.'  
  
'But how did you get here?'  
  
'The same way as you probably did.' War explained. 'Through the Sacred Realm. Before, we came to this being by pure accident. Now I was sent, by the great Chaos of Evil. I was sent on the sole mission of removing order throughout the world. That order, as they point out, is the Hero of Time.'  
  
Nigrowb looked disgusted. 'You are stupid.' He leered. 'Do you realize what would happen to the whole balance of everything in existence? It would be thrown into total anarchy! Even the Chaos of Evil shall be jeopardized!'  
  
'Will it?' War replied. 'In all honesty? What would happen? The world will destroy itself, it shall be a worse place. Kinds like myself LIVE on that. It fuels our urges. It feeds our mouths. It makes us..... healthy. It would only propel the Chaos of Evil to unstrung heights above Good, Dimension, Time, everything.'  
  
Nigrowb, Sekapook and War stared at each others with cold eyes. Nothing benefited from that heated argument.  
  
'We shall destroy you again, evil being.' Sekapook uttered. 'You failed to stop us before. What makes you so confident this time?'  
  
War chuckled. He was shaking in anticipation, because of his own self confidence. He was really thrilled by the very thought of what he was going to do to Link. 'Yes. You've become much braver than before. A few months, waiting with the Dammed Parents of the Child, would do that to a normal person, wouldn't it?'  
  
'Get to your point, being.' Sekapook said bluntly.  
  
'Okay, then.' War clicked his mandibles together again. 'You fought me with an entire army before. You had two adventurers and a dragon for support. As I recall before, you yourself came nowhere near me. Now it is only you. Understand?'  
  
But they were still determined. 'Wrong, Angel. We have the whole of Hyrule with us, and Valser. YOU are outnumbered!'  
  
'HA!' War snapped back. 'Don't be sure on that.' He took a step towards the shadows. 'Why do you think they call me the Angel of War?'  
  
Nigrowb and Sekapook were struck by that terrible thought. His powers.... He can turn friends and family into savages. Allies can....... Oh no.  
  
War exploded in a cloud of flies. They all flew outwards, away from the original spot where he stood, filling the air with black specks and a loud buzzing noise. In less than a second they had all gone, except for one single solitary insect, landing on Nigrowb's muscled arm.  
  
Nigrowb flicked it off quickly, and watched it buzz away. 'Sekapook- we are in serious trouble.' He said coldly.  
  
'With his power, he can turn the whole of Hyrule against us!' Sekapook realized. 'Shall we tell Adeel about it?'  
  
'Of course. But this would be the last thing he really wanted to hear.'  
  
They arrived at the castle training grounds again. Adeel and Ganondorf, however, weren't there. Instead, a high- ranking female officer was on duty. She was tall and bulky, with white hair. They knew her before (her name was Impa), but rarely crossed paths with her. She's usually on patrol outside the castle, in Hyrule itself.  
  
Still, they marched right up to her. 'Impa- where is Colonel Adeel and General Ganondorf?' Nigrowb immediately asked.  
  
Impa turned her head to face them, with her arms crossed. She looked very formal. 'They were called to a meeting with his Royal Highness this morning. Why?'  
  
'It's urgent news. We may be on the brink of war.'  
  
Impa blinked in surprise. 'War! With whom?'  
  
Sekapook sighed. 'We have our beliefs...... with the rest of Hyrule.'  
  
But she shook her head to that. 'Not possible. We're beginning to unify this land now. Where did you hear this from?'  
  
'We got this information from, a respectable source.' Nigrowb told her. 'He was very, very sure of the source of this war.'  
  
Impa still looked doubtful. 'I'll tell them myself. But how are you sure on his information?'  
  
Sekapook finally broke his patience. 'Because HE was going to start the war!' He said with an edged tone.  
  
But instead of being angered by that remark, Impa raised her eyebrows. 'Really? That makes all of the difference.' She calmly walked to the doorway leading to the inside of the castle. She looked over her shoulder. 'Well, you'd better tell them yourselves.' With that, she entered into the darker corridors of inside.  
  
Nigrowb and Sekapook sprinted after her, then slowed down to a marching speed matching hers. Her hands were swinging slightly as she walked, so they imitated her to be polite. Their footsteps made a unified marching noise around the echoing corridors, and they passed rows and rows of windows overlooking courtyards and the training ground. Exactly the path they take every day.  
  
But then, Impa turned into another corridor. This one they had passed every day for the last ten months, but had never ventured down it. Now they were. It was widening at the other end into an elegantly designed piece of architecture. It lead to another room decorated with hanging red and beige robes from the walls and stone pillars. Fires crackled in perched pots lining the room, and it all lead up to a red carpet. The end of the room finished with a table, and lots of chairs. At the very end of this table, a huge chair stood, embroidered with fancy patterns. The King was sitting in it.  
  
This was the first time they had seen him. He was as plump, round and royal- looking as they had expected. Nothing special. He looked up from his meaningless gaze at the table, and all the chairs turned. The other people in that room stared at the three entering people.  
  
'Ah. Impa. What brings you to my attention?' The King welcomed with pleasure.  
  
Nigrowb and Sekapook stepped in front of Impa, and knelt to the floor. They had learned that action from Valser once, when he once got his knighting. They then resumed their stance. 'Your highness. We have terrible news. Hyrule Castle may be under attack!'  
  
The King frowned. 'Under attack? Impossible.'  
  
Adeel stood up from his chair. He coughed. 'Privates Nigrowb and Sekapook. What is the meaning of this?'  
  
'The whole of Hyrule may be at war - any day now!' Nigrowb reasoned.  
  
'Possibly at the end of the day!' Sekapook exclaimed.  
  
Impa stood forward, forcing herself between the two. 'It's true, your highness.' She said. 'We could be at the brink of an international bloodshed. These two men behind me....' She gestured a hand to behind her, stepping to the side. '..... have impeccable information from what could possibly be the very source of the whole situation, possibly.'  
  
The King, as it seemed, had an extremely short temper. His mouth screwed up into a little puckered position. Tiny bits of frothy spit appeared around his mouth. 'That's simply not good enough.' He said, irritated. 'Scandalous rumor- passing throughout our beloved Town is beyond passable evidence to go by.'  
  
This short temper had rubbed off very quickly to Sekapook. He heaved a great heavy sigh. 'My liege. We did NOT get our evidence from a trouble- making citizen. We are certain of that, Nigrowb and I.'  
  
'Then WHO, WHAT OR HOW DID YOU COME ACROSS THIS EVIDENCE?!?' The King snapped. His sudden burst was the result of an unknown source. They had done nothing to provoke it.  
  
'It is the very reason that we came to Hyrule.' Nigrowb explained. He tried to tell it in a way which didn't tell of their true nature, so it would sound plausible. 'This person didn't come here at the spur of the moment. He has been planning the whole thing for years, at the least.'  
  
'NONSENSE!' The King shouted, slamming his palm face- down to the table. 'You are both insane! Impa, lead these men off of the premises!' Everyone sat around the table, especially those closest to the King, were beginning to be wary of him. All except Ganondorf, who stayed sitting as normal.  
  
Impa began to protest. 'But everything is tr- '  
  
'GET OUT!! GET OUT, NOW!!' The King shouted at the top of his infuriated voice.  
  
Impa couldn't do any more reasoning. It became apparent that he didn't want to be disturbed anymore - whatever it was that he was doing beforehand - and didn't care what the message was about. She simply bowed to him slightly. 'As you wish, my liege.' She said softly. She took a step back to behind Nigrowb and Sekapook, then left quietly. Nigrowb and Sekapook were still standing, bewildered, looking at the King.  
  
The King's head twitched as he looked at them. 'Well?' He provoked. 'Go on! Leave us at peace!' He waved the back of his hand to them.   
  
Nigrowb opened his mouth. He was about to say something, when he too fell to the presumption that it was useless. Yet, he was so frustrated with the complete ignorance the King was showing to them.... it didn't seem natural. He bowed to the King, and turned to the way out as Impa did. Sekapook more reluctantly began to follow, still watching the King. His head was still furrowed and still watching impatiently for them to get out.  
  
They heard footsteps tapping frantically from the corridor beyond. They saw the contrasting outline of a man, running down to them. They could see him more clearer as he came closer, and as he slowed down slightly. He was a young lad, not a soldier but a messenger. He had a message, presumably.   
  
He ran into the Throne Room, straight past the two men who turned to watch him as he passed by. He panted heavily as he walked up to the King's side.  
  
'What is it?' He grumped.   
  
The boy bent down to the sitting King, and whispered into his ears.  
  
The King's eyes bulged. 'You don't say....' He proclaimed. 'Which of them?'  
  
He whispered more.  
  
The King now jumped so high in his chair he looked as though he would hit the ceiling. 'WHAT?!?!' He screamed. 'Even.... The Zoras?'  
  
He nodded, then walked to the exit of the room. He turned around a corner within the corridor leading out, walking out of sight.  
  
Everyone stared at the King, who was very white. He looked a lot more feeble than before. His lower lip quivered. 'Gentlemen.....' He mumbled. 'We're at war.'  
  
Adeel leaned closer to the King. 'Which race are we against?' He inquired.  
  
He turned his head slowly to look at Nigrowb and Sekapook. 'Every single damned thing in Hyrule - the Gorons, the Zoras, the Gerudo, the Quetzl... even the common animals are preparing to fight.'  
  
They would have been a little pleased that their information was right, but this was hardly a time to be cheerful. It could be Hyrule's biggest battle. Bigger than dragon fights, or conflicts between races. No. Every single member of Hyrule, man or beast, was preparing to eradicate anyone on their paths. Of course, only one thing could have caused this. But what would be needed to prevent it. It was absolutely certain that Nigrowb or Sekapook wouldn't be able to single- handedly prevent this, no matter who believed that. But they had good friends - something which had been developed over ten months of being here. But most importantly, they had Valser, who had personally trained them, to fight alongside them.   
  
Would he survive? Or, more importantly..... would Link survive?  
  
STORM  
  
They were here. This was it. On the very same day of the birth of the Hero of Time, safe with Johannah at home, they were here, protecting the village. It was early evening. The air was cool and with a subtle breeze.  
  
The King, now knowing about the impending danger looming on Hyrule Town and its castle, had sent all forces to defend the town. They were on the outside of the walls, situated over the moat. They were in the main field now. Adeel and Ganondorf, as usual, were here. They were overwatching the army, shouting orders to them. Actually..... if Ganondorf was a Gerudo, it was curious why he wasn't with his people in the Valley, leading them to battle? Was it his allegiance to the King? OR was he treacherous? The latter seemed the more suitable case. With their army, this time not only was every man in the whole village out here to fight, but so was every bit of machinery and weapon imaginable. Giant Ballistas were being prepared by handfuls of soldiers, winding ropes and preparing the huge tree- sized arrows which it would fire. They had catapults too, which were being accounted for as well. They were both lined, all around the edge of the moat, facing outwards. Before them, the archers were lined. They were all getting preparations ready with their longbows and quivers. And in front of them, the rest of the army stood. They were broken down into separate groups, clusters all around the walls of the castle. One group had ordinary soldiers, the typical sword- wielding noblemen, each one checking shields and buckles secured tightly to themselves. Another group had what were called 'bombers'. These peculiar men didn't carry much armor with them, but their carrying workload was a great deal of high explosives. Naturally, not many people wanted to be bombers, so there are usually only handfuls of them in the army. That's why they are only in use with important missions like this one.  
  
The group next to them consisted of the Special Forces. This was the group Nigrowb and Sekapook were situated in, along with Valser. He had been told about this arrangement with the war only a few minutes ago by them, so he was a little underhand with weaponry. He still had his own sword and shield with them, which was fine. Sekapook had a spear with him, and Nigrowb carried a quiver of arrows and a longbow. 'It has nothing at all to do with the Volvagia incident.' He explained, but nobody believed him. Well, Sekapook eventually did. But that was only because Nigrowb forced him to.  
  
Beyond them, a miniscule posse of cloaked magicksmen. Each magician carried a cliched staff and pouch of their strong smelling powder. It was something Nigrowb and Sekapook didn't take much into consideration, especially when they saw what Mentia's magic powder could do. And finally, the Hylian army had...........  
  
Nigrowb and Sekapook were confused. 'Er, Valser?' Nigrowb inquired to Valser. He turned around to face him. 'What are those things over there?'  
  
Valser leaned over to Nigrowb, looking at the bird- like creatures in the farthest group. Instantly he smiled in recognition. 'Those are the Quetzl.' He explained. 'That group, in particular, are captive members of the Hyrule army. They're the last of their species.'  
  
Sekapook leaned over to Nigrowb to look as well. He saw a fairly large cluster of bipedal creatures, with long leathery wings instead of arms. They also had long necks and small, arrow- shaped heads. All of them were looking up into the air, honed to be prepared for the moment of attack.  
  
'Those Quetzl...' Nigrowb began. 'Are they sure to fight for us? They won't turn on us during battle, will they?'  
  
Valser shrugged. 'Haven't a clue.' He admitted. 'It might actually be likely to happen. We did capture them ourselves.' That, obviously, didn't help matters. Still, they were the only ones which could become airborne, so were a valuable part to the fight.  
  
But as they looked around, they thought. Why have they never, ever seen most of these members of the army before? Why is it that they've only been shown now? They've been with the army for almost nine months, so how did they manage to hide these special soldiers? But there was no way they could answer it themselves, and neither could Valser, so they dropped it.  
  
Everyone looked towards the horizon. Grey clouds covered the whole sky. A tiny wind blew with the rolling clouds, through the army and in to the village. It was a chilly gust that brushed past their skin, and that made them shiver. But there was no sign of any incoming army, which seemed strange. And gut wrenching. The wait was painfully unbearable.  
  
The wait...... Nigrowb's, Sekapook's, NigSek's and Link's, and everyone else's wait. They had waited ten months for it. At first, it was a lost feeling when they first entered the past of Hyrule, and into their forms. Then they had gone through a whole life in this form. It was only a tiny fragment of the average person's life, but they had experienced a lot of the hardships of the average human. They had lost friends, gained new ones, seen maidens and monsters, celebrations and consolidations, laughed and cried, loved and loathed, fought and cared...... yes. They had a perfect portion of how to be human. That they would miss, once they go back to their proper form.  
  
But, that might not ever matter again. Nothing, nor anybody, will matter again. It might all go away. It might all cease to exist if they don't complete their task. They've had their fun times (perhaps, if the gods had been listening to his speech on experiencing the perfection of life, they've had their payment in advance for their deeds), now it was the truly serious matter. This was, truly and utterly, the most crucial moment of their lives. Even more important than the dethroning of the Angels Four's tyranny, because if they failed on this, the evil beings will have won already before the fight had begun. And then, all of the hard work that the NigSek will have done in the future - Nigrowb and Sekapook's past - not to mention the others he traveled with, will be for nothing. Everything everyone will fight for today, will be for nothing. They must accomplish their task. They must save Link. They must stop War, at all and any cost. Only they had to survive.  
  
Both of them were shaking terribly.  
  
'Nervous, you two?' Valser said with a smile, as he watched them.  
  
'You could say that.' Nigrowb tried to say cheerfully, but sounding more in fraught paranoia.  
  
He looked both ways, and all around him, then he moved closer to the two. 'Is this anything to do with Link?' He whispered out of the corner of his mouth.  
  
'Yes, it is.' Sekapook whispered back.  
  
'This war is the reason we came here.' Nigrowb told him in whispers. 'Our army must survive.'  
  
Valser nodded in acceptance. 'I will try my absolute best.' He promised.  
  
'Thank you.' Then Nigrowb paused. 'And..... thank you. For over the months.'  
  
'We really appreciate it.' Added Sekapook.  
  
Valser glanced at him with half a smile. 'You're welcome. NigSek.' He returned in reply.  
  
Both of them looked around, outwards from their group of soldiers. The clouds had darkened more, and a small spattering of raindrops fell on their heads. Tiny, like little beads of water from a spray of a small sprinkler. Far across Hyrule, however, they could see the torrents of rain streak across the far off landscape like falling sheets of water, set upon a gloomy blue background. Behind them, the sky was still relatively light beyond the castle, which meant the clouds were passing over them. They would fight the battle in rain. How dramatic.  
  
If the battle ever occurred. There was still no sign of any fleets of armies coming. Many of the soldiers were getting bored, and some camped out in groups sat on the grass. They laughed among themselves, until Adeel yelled for them to get back up again. But the people were still growing impatient, waiting for the army to arrive to them....  
  
That struck Nigrowb as being a bit odd. 'Has the King or Adeel ever considered marching forward?' He joked to Valser.  
  
Valser thought on that for a moment, then leaned over to him. 'I'll inform Adeel of that.' He said, with an enlightened tone. He marched away from them. They watched him approach the plump Colonel, who in turn watched him. He spoke to him fairly silently, and they stared with a little disappointment as Adeel waved his hands around him in an enraged manner. Then Valser walked back to them, cape flowing behind him, shaking his head.   
  
'Let me guess.' Sekapook said wryly. ''He knows what he's doing'?'  
  
'Correct.' Valser agreed with a similar attitude. They might as well stay here, then.  
  
Valser looked very serious, thinking hard. The same face, they remembered, as he had put on when he decided to have a child. After a long, insufferable silence, he spoke again. 'I have an extremely bad feeling about today.' He commented.  
  
'I think we all do, to be honest.' Sekapook replied.  
  
'No no, I mean, I MYSELF have a bad feeling about today. Like a visionary thought.'  
  
Nigrowb and Sekapook looked at each other, then at Valser. 'What do you mean?' They both asked.  
  
Valser sighed a huge, regretting sigh. 'I know I will feel terrible asking you this today. It's a form of cheating, using your knowledge to advantage....'  
  
'Fire away with the question.' Nigrowb answered quickly. 'What's on your mind.'  
  
He went silent again. Then, he asked. 'Today. This battle. Will I..... die in it?'  
  
That was not what either of them had expected. It stabbed them in the heart like a cold, stony icicle. Nigrowb stopped breathing. He lost his voice.  
  
Valser, who had been watching him stumble on an answer, lowered his eyelids and closed his eyes, breathing deeply and turning his head away. 'I don't survive, do I?' He concluded with extreme sadness.  
  
But.... wait! 'Well.... Actually..... we don't know.' Nigrowb realized. 'Link never spoke of his parents or what happened to them.'  
  
'You don't see him in his twelfth year, though.' Sekapook blurted out. Nigrowb elbowed him for his heartless remark, and Sekapook kept silent, rubbing his chest plate.  
  
'His twelfth year?' Valser pondered slowly and gloomily. 'How do you know that?'  
  
'Well, he said he started his first adventure when he was twelve, when his parents weren't around and he stayed with his uncle......'  
  
Valser frowned. 'I don't have a brother.' He said with puzzlement.  
  
Nigrowb and Sekapook did a double take. 'Pardon?' They blurted at the same time.  
  
'Neither me nor Johannah had brothers.' Valser explained. 'What do you mean?'  
  
Nigrowb and Sekapook were devastated, utterly distraught..... everything imaginable. No uncle? Link MUST have an uncle! But if he doesn't now........ then who....? Were they even in the right place? What had happened? If there is no uncle around in this time, then.....  
  
'Get ready, people.' Adeel called out. 'We've got an incoming army from the South East, Zora's Domain.' With that, both he and Ganondorf walked calmly through the ranks of the army, across the drawbridge, into the confines of the Town walls. Everyone else was ready and waiting.  
  
From the stream at the entrance to the Zora Domain, a great splashing and frothing occurred at the water's edge. From here, heads rose out of the water, and a long line of creatures marched out onto the land. They were all upright, formal and holding tritons. They were also human- like, but had flippers and appendages attached to their arms and legs, looking similar to parts of a fish. The back of each Zora's head ended in, peculiarly, a fish- like tail. They looked very weird, but then, so did many things in Hyrule.  
  
All of the Zoras eventually formed a large group around the water's edge. They were camping out, like the Hylians were. It might be feasible that they cannot stand being too far away from the water else they dried up, or they may simply be playing it all safely. Either way, they weren't yet a threat. Just impending. Their heads too were focused on the main direction of the Hylian Army, watching with anticipation.  
  
Then, a bellowing horn was heard from the far west, out from the yawning gap of the Valley. They all watched as, leaking out from the entrance, great legions of Gerudo women charged out. They were much further away from them than the Zoras were, so Nigrowb and Sekapook couldn't see what a Gerudo looked like, but they could see their flags and banners moving around within their army. Also, they could hear, very faintly, their screaming and shouting. They were after blood, from the looks of it. They too camped out at the entrance to their domain, waiting.  
  
Everyone else waited. The rain was now a light shower, threatening to completely soak everyone. This would definitely be an advantage to the Zoras, Nigrowb now realized. But it wasn't particularly pleasant weather to fight in (not that a beautifully sunny day was any better to obliterate civilians in, either). Well, at least there was no thunder. But the Zoras, Gerudos and Hylians were all getting drenched, waiting.   
  
That reminded him. 'Where do you think the Gorons are?' Nigrowb murmured to Valser.  
  
'The Gorons will never make it to the Hylian Field. They have to pass down that path from Death Mountain....' He pointed to the stairway pummeled into the path at the foot of the menacing mountain, which they had traveled up before. '.... And to do that, they have to pass through Kakariko Village. The Sheikah live there.'  
  
Nigrowb blinked. 'The who?' He asked rhetorically.  
  
'Allies of the King. They're on our side.'  
  
That's good to hear. 'I see.' Nigrowb finished conclusively. But now that meant that they were ready to fight. Any moment now.....  
  
At the top of the central mound, right in the middle of the Hyrule field, a single person stood. Then, with the falling rain, it disappeared.  
  
A rumble filled the air. But it was a short, sharp rumble. It shook the ground under everyone's feet, but it was so soft that they hardly felt it. The rumble itself was drowned out by the pattering noise of the falling rain. Some people looked around.  
  
Another rumble was heard, this time louder. It was clearly heard by everyone, and it made the ground tremor more than the last. Also, worryingly, they heard the echo of a falling, cracking tree. Then a great bellowing roar. In the horizon, the sky was filling with a swarming array of black dots, which were very slowly growing in number.  
  
The Zoras marched forward. They didn't wear boots - or any clothing, for that matter - so their marching footsteps were silent padding noises across the grass. But their large numbers moved towards the direction of the black clouds in the air. Another rumble, even louder, echoed across the field. The ground shook softly. People were becoming concerned.  
  
'Wait here until I command you to move, people.' Adeel yelled from the top of the drawbridge tower. Nobody knew that he was there, so many heads turned to look at him. He waved to them, childishly.  
  
Opposite him, on the other side of the drawbridge, a guard was overlooking to the direction of the noises. He was squinting to try and spot the troublesome source of the noises. 'I see them.' He cried out. 'There's........ Naryu's sake! There's hundreds of them!'  
  
Adeel was hanging on every word of the watchman. 'What? What can you see?' He pleaded to know. His piggy little eyes weren't able to see that far, so he had to rely on someone else to look out for him. Quite unusual, really, why he's up there in the first place.  
  
The man squinted. 'I can see.... Rhyhorns... and Tamorans, Tekities, Moblins, Stalfos...... it looks like every creature from the whole woodland area!'  
  
'The woodland!' Sekapook exclaimed. He hoped for dear life that it was nothing from the Kokhiri Forest. There was another thing about this curse laid by the apocalyptic angel. The main problem wouldn't be from the threat of the enemy killing them, rather the other way around. They would have to harm their allies, possibly even their own friends. However, they didn't feel so declined to hurt the animals. It was a cruel thing to think, but that was the truth.  
  
The Zoras disappeared down the bank of a dropping hill. More rumbling sounds emanated from their direction - but now, they were numerous and ferocious sounding. Whatever was making those footsteps, if they were indeed footsteps, was running into battle.  
  
A great cloud of black specks flew up higher. They cast deep shadows over the land, and as they moved closer, there was a horrible chittering noise being made by them. And with the tiny specks, huge masses were flying through the air. Some were flapping with up to six wings each in simultaneous movement. And they were covering the sky over the field, blotting out whatever sunlight was getting through the cracked gaps in the rain clouds. They were heading for the castle!  
  
'This is it.' Valser concluded. 'We're at war.'  
  
Great creaking noises grew in volume from behind them. Nigrowb and Sekapook looked behind them, to see the soldiers manning the catapults rush around. People loaded in giant boulders into the cups of the slingshot, which were themselves rolled to them by other people, from a supply of them near the entrance of the Town. Within a few minutes they were all loaded up.  
  
As they now heard grueling roars and screams from over the hill, Adeel commanded the catapults to fire. Simultaneously they flung their loads into the air with tremendous force. Some of the stands for the catapults bent forward with the inertia of the throwing slingshots. The men had to stand away from them when they did that, whilst the others watched the airborne rocks sail through the air. They watched as they shrunk in size so rapidly as to appear as indifferent to the other flying specks.   
  
A giant black speck from the group paused abruptly in its flight, falling downwards. It grew larger as it came towards the ground. But the other specks mostly swerved around the boulders in great waves, like smoke being blown out of the way. One rock gouged its way through a load of specks, colliding with them continuously as it sailed through them.  
  
The falling shape was one of those which had the six wings. As it fell to the ground it seemed to have a streamlined body, legless like a worm. It also seemed to have different antennae and a great, clubbed tail, and it was completely covered in a white, hard, shiny exoskeleton. Apart from one section on its front, which had been completely shattered and now has a huge stone resting in the wound. It landed on the grassy plain with a thunderous boom. Everyone gasped in shock as it rested in a crumpled heap.  
  
'What in Hyrule is THAT?!' Sekapook crowed. He stared boggle- eyed at the bloated maggot- like body of the creature.  
  
This time, Valser was in a similar state of shock. He was unsure what this creature was, either - it was a totally new species. He ran up to it as it laid motionless on the ground. Other soldiers did the same, carrying ropes with them as they drew closer to the creature.   
  
Nigrowb and Sekapook were with the other soldiers, tensely watching those shapes up in the sky. If this fallen monstrosity was so deformed and twisted, expectations were mounting as to what the others up in the sky were like.   
  
Far off in the distance, the Gerudo clan moved. They headed in the same direction that the Zoras had moved, off towards the beasts of the forest area, and the growing cries of metal clashes, roars and screams. They too were suicidal, they thought. But they were also feeling a little cowardice, letting the others move in to fight at their expense and to our advantage. Still, they might become occupied with the incoming swarms up in the sky.  
  
Speaking of which, the growing swarm hurtled to the ground. The little specks moved with great speed, while the huge shapes kept at a steady pace towards them. The sky was ringing with screeches and squawks, which produced a terrible ambience all around the Hylians.   
  
'Archers!' Adeel yelled. With that, all the men carrying bows obligingly moved through the soldiers to the very front. A few, however, stood out of the way as the previous soldiers and Valser tugged on the huge creature, pulling it to the back of the army (Quite why they were actually carrying the corpse away from battle, they weren't quite sure. Perhaps for research reasons). When they were clear, the archers moved back into position.  
  
At once, all of them cocked their arrows back on their longbows and aimed them at the sky. The specks were now little wriggling blobs, though they were still too far away to tell what they were yet. All arrows were poised on individual targets.  
  
On Adeel's orders, the archers released the arrows. A shower of little wooden twig- like arrows rose from the army, up towards the air. Many of them stuck into the airborne creatures, and they spiraled towards the ground. It was their heading towards the ground that allowed them to see what the flying patrol consisted of. They saw bats, vultures, Quetzel - to many people's astonishment - flying Flamevos, and others beside. They were all screeching as they dropped out of their pack, to land on the wet, grassy ground.  
  
The others, however, were still crying out for blood as they came to the ranks. The archers quickly ran back to behind the soldiers, and the soldiers stepped forward. They wielded their swords, spears, pikes and other weapons above their heads.  
  
Before many of them came into contact with the first of the flying beasts. Swooping down to the ground, some went screaming for the front- most soldiers, felling them and sat on top of them. They were in a big mess of kicking legs and flapping wings, with the men screaming and the monsters scratching and biting them. Many went silently quickly. The others were picked up and carried away, to be eaten later.  
  
Sekapook ducked to avoid a small flying bat come screeching to him. It hit the guard behind him, who raised his hands in surprise and grab it off of his face. He threw it down to the ground beside him.   
  
He looked back round to ahead of him, when he saw a Flamevos hurtle towards him. He held his weapon up to shield his face, pointing the sharp end for the incoming creature. The animal moved so fast he couldn't see a thing of it, except for its curling and flaring fire- wings flap backwards as it increased in velocity more.  
  
Blindly, the Flamevos landed straight on, and through, Sekapook's spear, impaling it through its head and body vertically. The limbs and wings flew forward with the inertia, then immediately went limp. The creature had died instantly. Sekapook lowered the spear and the kebabed Flamevos, and forced the creature off of his weapon using his boot. It flopped onto the floor, laying on his back. It was deep red, with the wings facing downwards covering his arms. He wore heavy black armor all over his chest area, but his duck- like head was foolishly uncovered, which was how Sekapook managed to defeat it.  
  
Nigrowb raised his bow and arrows and released one towards the sky. It poked a vulture in its moldy chest, and it fell rolling towards the ground, bounced along a bit, and fell dead. Its head landed just before it on its scrawny neck.   
  
Then a Flamevos flew for Nigrowb. It unsheathed its sword from its buckle and whirled it around his head as it came closer to the man. Nigrowb pulled back and released another arrow, and it hit the creature in its shoulder. However, it only chipped the shoulder pad, which caused the Flamevos to judder slightly in its flight path. It then continued.  
  
Many other creatures sped past them and attacked soldiers around them, but Nigrowb and Sekapook were still occupied. Nigrowb stepped back as the Flamevos somersaulted head- over- heels and landed on the ground on his feet. He held his sword before him, spinning it around gracefully as it hopped closer. It then leapt forward slashing, which Nigrowb spun around to avoid. The licking flames of fire curled around the artful creature as it attacked, but his sword merely dug into the ground.  
  
As the Flamevos was bent down, Sekapook crouched down and lunged his spear into the creature's back. It chipped his shining armor more and made a little scraping noise. The Flamevos then spun around with his sword facing outward. Sekapook was careful to lean back quickly, though he still heard the whoosh of the blade pass by his face.   
  
Then Sekapook lunged again, this time for the head. It went through his soft skull like butter, and the Flamevos fell quivering to the floor, in much the same manner as the last one did. The sword clattered down besides its lifeless body.  
  
'Thanks, friend.' Nigrowb chirped. He then turned to the swarm and cocked an arrow back without a second thought.  
  
Sekapook felt a little furry thing collide with his head. He jerked his head down and back, and saw the little bat swing round to his front. Its vile little fangs were trying to grab his face, but he simply reached up to his face and plucked it off. His fist clenched and with a mildly satisfying crack, he threw it down to the ground.  
  
He spun around quickly, only to witness seven more bats fly for him. They attached themselves quickly to himself, and he yelled out as they sank their little teeth into his bare skin on his arms. He grabbed around for all of those which he could.  
  
Meanwhile Nigrowb was still firing arrows into the sky. He had improved his aim to an impeccable accuracy, to such that only two of them missed. He had taken down another vulture, and two of them managed to fell a Quetzel. But he was desperately running out of ammunition from his quiver, which was far from good. All of the arrows stuck in the monsters had broken as they fell to the ground, so he couldn't simply grab them at the next possible chance. Plus, the giant beasts were coming closer.  
  
Another round of boulders flew through the air, and these hit many of the huge flying things - supposedly they were terrible at avoiding projectile attacks, as not one of the creatures attempted to avoid the attacks. Three more fell to the ground with a far- away thud.  
  
A pair of bats attached themselves to Nigrowb's arms, which he proceeded to scrape off. They scratched his bare skin, which stung considerably, but nothing bothered him for a while. He looked around the battlefield to see what was happening.  
  
The ordinary soldiers had been reduced by half of their numbers, but nearly all of the airborne creatures had been eliminated. Unfortunately, they had also taken many of the archers with them. Quetzels were fighting each other in the sky, which showed that they were holding out strong. The Special Forces officers, thankfully, have survived greatly. Not a single of their group has died, which was positive for the rest of the fight. But now, huge shapes moved in from the horizon. Great spiny, gray colored stony monsters could be seen, stampeding for them.   
  
'The Rhyhorns are moving!' Someone cried behind them. He was quickly silenced by an incoming Quetzl with a yelp.  
  
Nigrowb couldn't really care at this time. A Quetzel had landed right on top of him, grabbing him by his shoulders. Nigrowb grabbed a leg with one of his hands, and thrashed the wooden handle of his bow between the creature's legs. The Quetzel kept lifting his legs away from Nigrowb, but was hovering precariously above him, flapping his wings and pecking down at him with his long neck. Nigrowb poked the end of his crossbow into the Quetzel's head, and he jerked it back and flew away from Nigrowb altogether. He continued to pester another guard.  
  
Then, Nigrowb had a disturbing thought. 'Where's Valser?' He called to Sekapook, in fierce combat with another Quetzel.   
  
Sekapook shoved his spear directly upwards above his head, through the hovering Quetzel's body. His wings wavered, and his head thrashed about in pain. He squawked a pterodactyl- like screech, before going limp. He threw the monster off of his weapon onto the grassy ground, though the monster still limped about slowly. He looked up to Nigrowb. 'I haven't seen him since he took that monster, earlier.'  
  
As he stared in Nigrowb's direction, he saw someone cry out behind him. It was Valser!  
  
'Behind you!' Sekapook yelled. He leapt up to his feet, sprinting past Nigrowb, and through the fighting officers. Nigrowb paused to look around him. He spotted a fallen Flamevos, and yanked the curled sword out of his claws. He then chased after Sekapook.  
  
Valser was being pursued by a Quetzel and two Flamevos. The Quetzel was closer to Valser and resting on the ground, standing upright with his wings curled around Valser. He started to peck downwards at Valser's helmet, but pulled it away in time to miss his sword slash at him.  
  
Sekapook and Nigrowb edged closer to the Quetzel, who paid no attention to them. Instead, the two Flamevos circled around the Quetzel and around the two men. Nigrowb and Sekapook stood back to back, shuffling around as the winged fiery creatures did. As the Flamevos moved, they left little fiery footprints in the ground. They fizzled out quickly due to the mud and falling rain.  
  
Suddenly, a Flamevos puckered up its cheeks, and blew. A little ball of flames flew out towards the two, and hit Nigrowb in the chest. There was no force behind the impact, and he was impervious to fire, but it did rather worryingly lick around his whole upper body, up towards his face. It heated his chest plate up more, too. Nigrowb shook his head and watched the Flamevos' surprised reaction.  
  
Sekapook was attacked by the other Flamevos. He leapt towards him, spinning in the air with his sword facing outwards and making little twists of flames twirl through the air. He held his spear up to the creature's sword, but it aimed further to the side than he anticipated. It sliced through a portion of Sekapook's arm, and because of its searing heat the gash was peeling away rapidly. He yelled out in excruciating pain, clutching his arm when the Flamevos landed.  
  
The Quetzel was still bothering Valser. Eventually, Valser decided to go for his wings surrounding him. He hacked through the leathery skin stretched encompassing him, and they shredded up quickly, much to the discomfort of the Quetzel. Reluctantly he lifted them away and staggered back, whereupon Valser stepped to the monster wielding his sword. He leapt, and with a twirl of the sword cut cleanly into the neck of the creature, near the shoulders. The Quetzel fell to his knees, wavering on the floor.  
  
Then Valser noticed the predicament Nigrowb and Sekapook were in. He immediately ran towards a Flamevos surrounding them, holding his sword outwards in two hands, with his shield buckled to his right arm. He forced his sword into the side of a Flamevos, but only served to push it away with a clang as it hit his armor. It fell on its side, but began to scramble to its stubby clawed feet.  
  
The other Flamevos hopped forward extending his sword outwards towards Nigrowb. He jumped back, but bumped into Sekapook, who stumbled forward onto his face. Nigrowb was too concerned with his opponent, flashing his sword before him in little flaming slashes.  
  
Nigrowb flicked his sword before him, but it didn't produce fire like the Flamevos' one did. Nevertheless, he was evenly prepared to fight the creature. He sprinted forward, and their two swords locked together before their faces. The Flamevos sneered at Nigrowb, which was an intriguing feat for a creature with a duck bill.  
  
Nigrowb heaved his sword to the right, making the Flamevos spin his over too. He immediately slashed his upwards, and the Flamevos quickly moved his arm in a circle and let his sword sail downwards to meet Nigrowb's in the middle, with a clang. Then Nigrowb pulled his sword out, and unwittingly yanked the Flamevos' sword out of his grasp, due to the remarkably extravagant curve of the sword's edge. It flew over Nigrowb's head, much to the Flamevos' dismay.  
  
He stared at Nigrowb with a pleading look, and Nigrowb paused. This creature wanted mercy. It was ready and waiting for his execution. It was nothing more than a humble, natural creature, another victim of the power of the angel of war. He didn't need to kill this creature now, since it was harmless now anyway. He wouldn't be much better now than the evil being himself. He felt pitiful. He couldn't do it.  
  
Nigrowb stared at the Flamevos in the eyes. 'Go back. Now. If you value your life, then leave.'  
  
The Flamevos immediately lifted his fiery wings, flapping them heavily and producing a warm downward blast of air. Repeatedly it flapped, until it was clearly up in the air, whereupon it started to float away from the castle, towards the woods. Nigrowb looked fulfilled.  
  
But Valser looked curious. 'Nigrowb.' He queried. 'Why didn't you kill him?'  
  
Nigrowb walked up to the man. 'None of these creatures are fighting by their own will. They've been cursed.'  
  
Valser squinted. 'What?'  
  
'It's a curse. An angel has fallen to Hyrule and spread his evil magic among the races of this land. Even the animals are infected.'  
  
'You mean, these people are fighting because of an evil spell?'  
  
'Yes!' Sekapook exclaimed. 'It's the Power of War. He followed us to this time. He's Link's assassin!'  
  
Valser was silent for a bit, then his face broke into a snarl. 'Where is he?' He said coldly.  
  
'We simply don't know.' Nigrowb confessed. 'He's gone.'  
  
'And left us to pay the consequences.' Valser commented.  
  
The rumbling underfoot, which had been continuous throughout their little battles, had now grown into ground- shaking tremors. The Rhyhorns were moving again!  
  
The flying, six- winged creatures had all been taken out, laying over the battlefield. But the land- bound sleuth of creatures kept their pace. Now the Rhyhorns were clearly visible. They were covered in rocky spikes, and their heads ended with great lumpy horns on the end of their noses. Every footstep they took with their elephantine legs shook the earth, and they roared up towards the rainy sky, with their toothy jaws gaping open. Some of the Rhyhorn nuzzled the fallen airborne behemoths out of their way, off to the side.   
  
'Bombers!' Adeel yelled from the lookout tower. Curiously none of the flying monsters attempted to attack him up there.  
  
The stout, armor- less men moved forward, and so did the archers. They pulled out little bags of gunpowder and proceeded to tie them up into little sacks, using spare pouches which they carried. They then handed them to the nearest archer, who tied them to a spare arrow, and notched them in their bows. They would all take aim, and they had their arrows trained once again.  
  
'Fire!' Adeel yelled.  
  
This time, individual arrows, or groups of two arrows, shot off through the sky. They disappeared when they contrasted with the stormy rainclouds up above them. The Rhyhorns were still moving.  
  
Suddenly, an explosion appeared in the distance with a muted booming sound. It lit the surroundings up, and startled the Rhyhorn before it. He leapt onto his hind feet for a second, making a distressed growling noise.  
  
Two more explosions appeared, one of them actually on the head of a Rhyhorn. His armored head had completely smashed, and his bare bloody skin was clearly visible from this distance. The other detonation was much further away from the whole stampede, actually closer to the Hylian army, but the injured Rhyhorn collapsed to the floor, thudding down and moaning, before becoming still. It was dead.  
  
Many more explosions happened singly, either on a Rhyhorn or before one. Many of them became startled and went amok, turning around awkwardly and making some of them stop. Many of them escaped with huge parts of their plating missing, though they still continued. Two more keeled over with defeat, lying on the ground motionless.   
  
More trouble aroused. From the east, lots of Goron voices could be heard echoing down the path from Death Mountain. They were prepared to move in to battle, with the rest of Hyrule. And the path lead to the closest thing to the army..... the Hylians.   
  
'I thought you said the Sheikah would settle those Gorons from the mountains!' Nigrowb shouted to Valser, agitated.  
  
'There were only a handful of them to start with, Nigrowb.' Reasoned Valser. 'They didn't really stand a chance to begin with. They were doomed from the start.'  
  
There. Already one race of the land of Hyrule was all but eliminated. Although Sekapook didn't particularly care for them, since he had only heard of them a few minutes ago, it was possibly a hint at what might happen to many others in this battle.  
  
Another check of the proceedings of their fight. The Special Forces were still in great numbers, but they had completely lost their own batch of Quetzel. The archers were a little less in number, but the soldiers had been whittled to nearly a sixth of their number. However, the airborne critters were all gone. Round one to them.  
  
The bombers loaded up more archers with explosives, and they shot more arrows towards the Rhyhorns. More of them exploded upon impact, and the Rhyhorns were wounded more. One more fell dead to the floor. The Rhyhorns were shrinking in size.  
  
But now, the ground- based attack revealed it real numbers. From the gaps between the marching Rhyhorns, hundreds of monsters appeared. They charged for the army in the distance, with blood- curdling screams and wails. Within their numbers, they were still being attacked by Gerudos and Zoras, who were trying to keep the pace with them alongside. They were still in relatively big numbers, but they were dwindling down to smaller fleets fairly rapidly.  
  
'CHAAAAAARRRRRRGE!!!!!!!!' Adeel yelled at the top of his deep voice.  
  
Immediately, anyone and everyone ran for the monsters. The bombers and archers stayed as they were, and the magicksmen kept their distance, but everyone else moved. The ballistas and catapults were being towed forward by the guards manning them, and their loads were rolled alongside them.  
  
The men ran. Oh how everyone in that party ran for their lives, not from the battlefield, but into it. It was all for loyalty, not for lives. They charged purely because the King ordered so, while totally ignoring any growing reservations they had for keeping their health and bodies intact. Nigrowb and Sekapook were disgusted as they noted this, but then, their reasoning was much, much important. They were trying to make this all worthwhile.  
  
The Stalfos - skeletal, heavily armored and bulky warriors - moved in first. They suddenly stood their ground and let the Moblins charge ahead of them. These were like pudgy men with bulldog- like faces, and armed with throwing spears. They, however, wore no armor, so would probably be easy kill.  
  
The men met with the monsters. Guards impaled Moblins, and moblins skewered unprotected guards. Nigrowb sliced the throat of a nearby Moblin, who fell gurgling to the ground. Somehow, he felt these ones to be more bad natured than any others.  
  
Sekapook squared up to a Stalfos. The skeleton watched him with tiny beads of red in his eyes, laughing as he circled around him. His shield was raised, keeping his body well protected from his spear. Sekapook kept his distance from him.   
  
A Rhyhorn saw the guards ahead, and ran. He made the earth shake violently and made great cracking, crunching noises below foot as he charged forward. Everything had to steady itself and upright when one of these massive beasts passed by. The guards ran screaming for help.  
  
Valser grabbed Sekapook by the shoulder and tugged him far away, just to witness the tremendous mass of the huge spiky creature trundle past. Behind him laid footprints neatly embedded in the soft mud. Great clumps of it were turfed up with the moving feet of the creature, and it fell on everything within a close range of it. It flicked his head upwards, and a guard flew upwards through the air screaming. He landed on the hard, bony back of the Rhyhorn with a sickening, squishy crack. He slowly slid off of it and into the mud on the ground, lifeless.  
  
From behind the path of the Rhyhorn, the Gerudos, Zoras and monsters were still fighting in a lowered part of the land, dangerously close to the forest area. Huge tracks had been forced down through the trees, but, thankfully, none of them came from the Kokhiri Forest. It was a sad sight to see the once great woodland area trampled underfoot, though.  
  
'Need to pay attention more, y'know.' Valser warned him. From behind him, a Stalfos reared its ugly, partially toothless grinning face.  
  
'Valser- look out!' Sekapook cried.  
  
The Stalfos lashed forward, and on instincts Valser jumped to the side. Without hesitating Sekapook immediately lunged for the Stalfos with his spear firmly grasped in his hands, aiming for the skeleton's face. It shattered the skull into bony fragments, and the Stalfos staggered for a while.  
  
Valser spun around with sword in hand, facing the headless Stalfos. It was still poised to fight, though it couldn't see them. He was taking random swipes directly in front of him, without accuracy or reason, other than to ward off the opponents.  
  
Sekapook and Valser walked calmly around the sides of the still standing Stalfos, raised their weapons, and simultaneously jammed them into the brittle ribs of the monster. They smashed, and so did the rest of the creature. All of the flying pieces of bone and armor faded away in green puffs of smoke.  
  
Nigrowb, after much fighting with the Stalfos, manage to penetrate into his waist area, lopping it into two bits. The bottom half fell to its knees, and flopped to the ground, defeated. That too faded in smoke. He let loose a sigh of relief, then edged towards the other two, on the lookout.   
  
Riding aboard the back of a Rhyhorn, a great armored insectoid creature landed between Nigrowb and the others. It was a Tamoran, one of Nigrowb's old 'friends' again. It hissed at him, with his hind legs arched over his back and at the man.   
  
His fight was abruptly ended by a sharp jab by Valser from behind the monster, into the Tamoran's rear. The Tamoran jumped in the air and rolled over onto its back - with a ginormous gaping hole in its rear. Its legs curled up slowly, and its mouth became frothy.  
  
In the sky, a tiny whizzing sound made its presence known. Seconds later, a deafening boom exploded close by. The Rhyhorn's head had been encased in a ball of fiery flames, and from it spread bony fragments and globules of red blood. Another Rhyhorn was defeated, as it slowly sank down onto its side with a thunderous thud. It moaned its last fleeting cry for help, before falling silent.  
  
Nigrowb got back onto his feet, from cowering down in lieu of the explosion. 'Why are we here?' He exclaimed. 'If the bombers are still firing at the Rhyhorns, we could get blown to smithereens!'  
  
'Good idea. Let's go.' Valser scampered away from the fighting men, with Nigrowb and Sekapook ever- present behind him. Nigrowb flashed his sword at a Moblin who jumped out to him, sending him reeling away with a hand lopped off. Sekapook taunted the other monsters with his spear on the other side of Valser. Valser just marched forward, sword firmly in hand.  
  
They moved out of the screaming shouting army altogether, and back to their own army. Another explosion flowered on the battlefield to their right, which made their heads turn upon hearing its detonation.   
  
But as they moved towards the castle, the thundering underfoot increased in numbers. Looking behind, the Rhyhorns were picking up speed. Each of them were now host to, from what they could see, hordes of Tamorans, Tekities and other arthopodic monsters riding with it. They weren't moving faster than the now fleeing men, but they were unstoppable.  
  
Nigrowb, Sekapook and Valser reached the lines of poised archers and bombers who had camped out around the walls of the town. They all began to pack their things and run away, to either side of where the Rhyhorns would arrive. The catapults and ballistas were still positioned in their original places, further out from the castle when they originally moved.  
  
The first charging Rhyhorn flicked a measly catapult up into the air. The planks of wood, prepared boulders and even three people, flew up into the air and landed further away. One man was crushed under a falling plank, and the rest fell alongside the remains of the catapult.   
  
The other large projectile- firing machines were helpless, because by the time they were prepared to fire, a Rhyhorn was too close to it anyway for it to be effective. The rest of the men just ran, leaving their machinery to be completely mangled by the Rhyhorns. They quickly made short work of all of them. And they were still charging.  
  
The three men were lined up right with the drawbridge- and it was only now that they remembered that it had been closed. Frantically they swung their heads to and fro, looking to see where the other men were. Adeel was still up in the watch tower, though he now looked as though he had his reservations. The other soldiers were on other sides of them, far away from the foreseen path of the monsters. They watched with fright the massive Rhyhorns close in.  
  
Valser looked back at the castle. Then he looked down to the moat. 'Jump!' He yelled, and he stepped off the side, into the cool waters of the moat. His splash was hardly different from all of the huge heavy raindrops falling in to the water - well, it didn't look that different.  
  
Hesitantly, Nigrowb jumped into the water, holding his breath. Then Sekapook leapt in.  
  
The water was freezing cold, and below them was murky dark waters. Bubbles floated past them and tickled their arms. Sekapook's gash in his arm stung terribly, though he ignored it with valor. Looking around, they saw Valser's dull shape float through the water. He looked up.  
  
The other two looked up, and they saw a huge black shape cross over them, barging into the wall on the other side. In the sky, giant jagged shapes sped towards the water.  
  
With a muted plop, a boulder fell into the water. Sekapook lifted himself away with strokes of his arms, and watched as it sank down towards the deep depths of the moat. Another boulder followed behind, then a sprinkling of stones plopped through the surface of the water, spiraling down through the water.  
  
Sekapook poked Nigrowb for attention. Sekapook was about to gesture up to the surface with his head, until a stone hit his head with a thud. It made him blink slightly, and he watched it slide down to the darkness. Ignoring that incident, they made for the surface.  
  
Sekapook, then Nigrowb, broke through the surface of the water. They gasped deep breaths of air, then swam to the edge of the moat. Valser resurfaced behind them, and followed suit.  
  
They clung on to the side and watched as on their right a Rhyhorn desecrating a stone wall. It nuzzled the surrounding stones furiously with his horned snout, and his whole body was bridged over the gap. Tamorans and Tekities obligingly scurried over his body, into the Town. More screaming and shouting could be heard. They watched as abruptly, the Rhyhorn's head fell under an explosion, and the whole body sank down.  
  
His feet slipped over the side of the moat. The three men shaded their eyes as the Rhyhorn's corpse fell into the water with a tremendous splash.   
  
'Well.' Nigrowb commented, looking all across the back of the relatively round Rhyhorn. 'At least we can get back in to the Town.'  
  
'Yes - but so can everything else. Look!' Valser pointed to all the Stalfos, Moblins, Zoras and Gerudos using the Rhyhorn as a bridge. They were piling in to the once safe Town.  
  
They all climbed out of the water, weapons in hand, and charged straight for the Rhyhorn. They clambered up the nearest hind leg, then held on to the scaly rim of one plate of its armor, and they finally pulled themselves up to more level body.  
  
When they moved across, Sekapook heard something loud, right behind him. He turned to see a group of three Tekities, heading to him. They were smaller, spinier and truthfully more harmless relatives of the Tamoran, who walked around on four feet rather than the peculiar way the Tamorans did. He held his spear out and taunted them with it. One Tekitie jumped for him, but Sekapook lashed his spear upwards in a curve, clipping the soft underbelly of the creature. In a flash it fragmented, and the fragments fell clattering down the sides of the Rhyhorn's rear. The other Tekities backed away nervously, bumping into a charging Zora.   
  
That would occupy them, he thought. He spun back round, preparing to catch up to Nigrowb and Valser- and bumped into someone. He staggered back, shaking his head. The person was facing him, cloaked.  
  
Looking up, blinking with the falling rain trickling over his face and still pouring down, he gazed upon the figure of War. He was still cloaked, and sneering at Sekapook. Silently he spun his cloak around his body, and with its substance he disappeared from view.  
  
Then he remembered. Johannah..........  
  
'Valser! Nigrowb!' Sekapook called out in urgency.  
  
They were standing right behind where War was. 'We saw.' Nigrowb remarked. Then he turned his head to Valser. 'Valser Ruth, that was the figure of War. He is the one. We must stop him!'  
  
'But he's gone again.' He reminded him.  
  
And yet, Sekapook knew exactly where he was. Not a question of where he was going, but where he already was....  
  
DESTINY  
  
She watched in the general direction of the battle, in Hyrule Field. But because of the other houses she couldn't see any of the armies at war. She heard the odd muffled explosion, and she saw shapes move around in the deeply dark sky. The rain tinkled down on the roof of the house, and trickled down occasionally down the panes of glass in the window. She was still holding Link in her arms, wrapped in his cotton cloth sheets. She looked at his little face nestled in the sheets with a tired smile.  
  
'This will soon be your first day, Link.' She said softly. She lifted an arm from under the baby and tickled his chin with her delicate finger. The baby coughed, and wriggled around in his sheets. She chuckled to herself.  
  
Slowly she moved away from the window, out of the bedroom. She silently glided along the hallway to the baby's new room. Inside was dark, but quite warm. The baby's cot, which Valser took care in making himself, lay unused in the room as it had been for the last nine months. Tonight, it will give Link his first good- night sleep. For tomorrow, his life will be different to one he knew before, Johannah realized. This room will be where he truly starts his life.  
  
She rested him inside the fluffy sheets of the cot, unfurling his sheets and laying them over the bottom of his body. He strained around on his back, making a little groaning sound, then rested his head on its side. She stood there, quietly watching him as he rhythmically breathed in, and out. In, and out. Completely peaceful.  
  
'Oh, brave little boy.' She whispered. 'My one and only child, how I will care for you over the years, as you grow strong. Like your father.' She bent down to kiss him on the forehead, then moved around to face the doorway. She took one last glance at him, before she headed towards the door.  
  
The door slam shut with a loud clatter, making Johannah jump. The handle slowly turned, and with a click it shut itself. It was still unlocked, though.  
  
Then the deep sniggering began.  
  
Johannah gasped with her hand up to her mouth, when she saw, from the corner of the room, a man- sized, ugly bug- like monster. It looked hideous, and his segmented eye barely reflected whatever light there was in the room. He was leaning on the wall of the room, with his arms crossed across his spiny chest.  
  
'Spending your last few minutes with the child is never a real possibility, Johannah.' He hissed.  
  
Johannah's eyes were fixed. She held to the side of the cot to steady herself, lest she collapse to the floor. 'W- w- who are you?' She stuttered, hardly able to keep her nerves steady.  
  
The monster turned his head to the floor, though his eyes were still seemingly watching her. It wasn't clear, due to their segmented surface. 'I shall be blunt.' He rasped, standing up straight with his hands either side of him. Johannah shuffled away as he moved.  
  
War flicked his left hand, and three monstrously long blades came out from the base of his wrist, from the back of his gnarled, shapeless hand. He lifted them to his face, obscuring the gaze between them, and whispered discreetly and quickly; 'I am War. I am the last thing you shall ever see. I will leave this house with your baby's head in crushed chunks over the floor, soaked in the sweet essence of blood. You will suffer a worse fate.'  
  
This atrocious threat made Johannah weak at the knees. She began to cry uncontrollably. 'W- w- why do you want to h- hurt us?' She pleaded. She began to fall to her knees.  
  
'To save the fate of my brothersssssss!' The dark angel screeched, unexpectedly at the top of his voice. Now his right hand grew the unsheathed blades, and he clashed them together before his face, towering over the young woman and the cot. 'Ready to die?' He asked, satirically.  
  
Johannah's lower lip trembled. She shook her head slightly. 'Please......' She continued. 'Leave the baby....... Take me.........'  
  
Now War seemed agitated. He leaned closer to Johannah, staring face to face. 'You do not understand. I want BOTH of you. You cannot possibly apprehend how much both of you mean to me DEAD!'   
  
Downstairs, the sound of cracking wood echoed to the upstairs, followed by a flurry of footsteps moving upwards.  
  
Johannah moved quickly. She grabbed for the baby as War was distracted, but in doing so broke War's focus. He glanced back at Johannah, then spun around with his claws down. Johannah backed away to the side and watched with horror as the blades went through the wood, cloth and mattress, causing the hay used to stuff the mattress to spread outwards. She saw briefly, the little Rakki doll stick out from underneath his blade, with the stuffing falling out. Its little smiling face was almost pleading.  
  
With War's other hand he slashed horizontally towards Johannah, but she had backed away to the corner. She stumbled in to it and crouched down crying, watching as War untangled his crossed hands. A couple of straws of hay flew around. He stared at Johannah on the floor as he edged closer to her, mandibles clicking.  
  
The bedroom door flew wide open, and Valser, Nigrowb and Sekapook stepped in. Valser was thoroughly furious. 'Get away from them!' He uttered. He pointed his sword at the angel's shoulder, closest to him.  
  
War kept still. He watched everyone in the room with his segmented eyes, but he didn't attempt to attack anyone. He was motionless at the edge of Valser's sword.  
  
'Come on, Johannah.' Sekapook beckoned her to come to him. She stepped around the room, keeping her back up to the wall and holding Link firmly up to her chest. Sekapook grabbed her arm and let her pass, outside of the door and down the stairs. Nigrowb went after them.  
  
'Happy now?' War hissed.  
  
Valser edged away from the door. Then, as quickly as possible, he ran for the stairs and down them. He headed for the door, outside into the now bustling Market Square. But it was bustling because of a more different reason.  
  
The other three spotted Valser bound out of the doorway, into the market square. He joined them, and they moved to the lighted end of the alleyway, away from their now unsafe house. But War followed close behind Valser, and ran towards Johannah and the baby.  
  
Immediately Nigrowb and Sekapook jumped before Johannah and stood in front of her. 'Keep away from them, you monster!' They shouted, at the same time.  
  
War stopped before them. He turned away from them, and walked back up to the door of the house. Everyone watched him with curiosity. He stopped a fair pace away from them. What was he doing?  
  
He silently laughed, then broke out in uproarious cackling, still facing away from them. Everyone now swapped looks of puzzlement between them.  
  
'You have no right to call me that.' War said. He spun around again, and now faced them. Nigrowb and Sekapook nudged closer, with their weapons aimed at him.  
  
'What are you trying to say, War?' Sekapook snarled.  
  
'We're as human as anybody in this village, now.' Nigrowb added.  
  
'That, is a lie.' War corrected in a whisper. 'You are no different to me, a twisted creation of evil.'  
  
'Nigrowb, Sekapook - what is he saying?' Johannah asked, with a tinge of worry in her voice.  
  
War, though he had no facial features of any kind, almost seemed to smile. 'Oh, so you haven't told them of your little secret yet.' War strolled up to the wall on the opposite side of the house. The rain poured down here, almost like a waterfall because of the overhanging parts of the roof.  
  
Valser remembered immediately what he meant by that. But he held his head up strong, and walked up to Nigrowb's side. 'I know his secret, foul being.' Valser commented. 'And I shall forever stand beside these two excellent soldiers.' Nigrowb and Sekapook looked at him with a smile.  
  
'But you haven't witnessed the true horror of his diabolical form.' War snapped, waving his hand before him. 'You are not even prepared to see the monster you've been letting live in your house all of this time.'  
  
Johannah was experiencing a unsettling feeling in her stomach. She was going slightly queasy.  
  
Nigrowb and Sekapook were feeling deep guilt. Their heads hung low, and they stepped closer to the angel with their weapons dragging along the ground. 'It's true.' Nigrowb and Sekapook murmured at the same time.  
  
War crouched down, and the shell casing over his back opened up. Little fly wings popped out, and he flapped, buzzed and hovered up into the air. He became more omnipotent. 'You see? They admit it! Now gaze upon their true selves....!'  
  
Valser and Johannah took a step back from the two men, standing perfectly still and looking down to the ground before the floating embodiment of bloody torment. Whereupon War clicked his fingers. As he did, two tiny beams of light struck down on the men, falling with the raindrops in the sky, and struck their heads. They both simultaneously looked up into the sky, dropping their weapons beside them. They glowed white, illuminating the dark shadows of the alleyway and making everything else darker. Their bodies now became shapeless. Neither of them could think. Their minds were blank. Valser and Johannah watched with amazement.  
  
They watched as the two nondescript shapes became little balls and twirled around each other, colliding within the center of the ground below them. There was a blinding flash which War stared unblinking and motionless into. Valser and Johannah covered their eyes.  
  
They lifted them away. Valser gasped, and Johannah's face screwed up in terror.  
  
Before them stood a huge, green- shelled, spiny four- armed monster. It had a tuft of orange hair sprouting from its wide head, and teeth sticking out of its mouth at funny angles. Most grotesque of all, however, were his four chubby arms, resting on either side of his body in pairs. These were covered in a patchwork of scales and green spikes. He looked, well, monstrous.  
  
War faced the two human onlookers. 'Who do you trust the most now? The deceiver?'  
  
Nigrowb and Sekapook, after ten strenuous months now joined as their true form, was now NigSek: the Monster. He turned slowly around to look at Johannah with a pleading gaze, but his scarlet eyes rimmed with yellow made him believe that he did not pass the right message over to them. He opened his toothy mouth to say something, but his mouth felt gummed up in confusion and a mixture of feelings. With sadness he silenced himself.  
  
Johannah clasped her baby closer to herself, keeping away from the horrible beast before her. She was scared stiff. To think that this..... thing...... had been living with her - in her own house! Near the baby.....  
  
NigSek shuffled himself around to face War again. He watched the flying being raise his clawed hand, ready to execute him. All he could do was watch, and wait to accept the inevitable.  
  
The claws came down - and they collided with a clang, ringing around the wet alley.  
  
NigSek cracked an eye open. He saw a mesh of metal before him. He cocked his head back to see what it was. Before the claws on War's hand, a sword had been wedged between them. He eyed the sword down to the handle, and saw Valser on the other end of it. He glanced at NigSek, raising his eyebrows.  
  
'Keep away from him, demon!' Valser hollowed, wrenching the blades away from NigSek's face. 'Both halves of his mind are of loyalty and kindness. He is only a monster on the outside - unlike you.'  
  
War pretended to shake in the air. 'Oh, that bothers me SO much.' He said, not even bothering to put much sarcasm into it. Then he lashed for Valser's sword, making a scraping, metallic noise.  
  
Valser did a double take as he saw the end of his trusted sword, completely missing. It was now just a stumpy bit of polished metal which he held in his hands.  
  
As War slashed for him again, he was pulled back. NigSek had grabbed him by his shoulders. 'You had better take the child to cover.' NigSek warned him.  
  
'But-'  
  
'NOW! I'll ward off the angel!'  
  
Valser was forced out of the way as he scratched at War, coming towards him. Their claws met with a metallic clang. His body, he recalled, still retained the power of the Light Spell, so any unique powers that War had gained during this battle were obsolete now. That didn't make him invincible, though.  
  
Valser ushered Johannah to walk. 'Come on, Johannah. NigSek will deal with War.'  
  
'NigSek?' She retorted, perplexed.  
  
'The combined body of Nigrowb and Sekapook. I knew about his secret for months.'  
  
Johannah was disgusted. 'So you let that thing into our house all this time...'  
  
'Johannah, he's our friend. He came here to protect you from THAT being!' He quickly pointed a finger at War, flying above NigSek. 'He's put his life before you for all of this time. Do you want to completely forget that just because he is really a giant fire- breathing monster?'  
  
Johannah's mouth was ajar open. From hearing what Valser said, she had realized how selfish she had been. They were the friendliest people she had known for a long time, and it was only now that they were here for a much greater cause. HER cause. 'I'm sorry.' She whispered, quietly. A tear edged the rim of her eye.  
  
NigSek was thrown back into the side of a house. Along the side of it grew large cracks and dust fell down on to him with the rain. They stung his cuts and bruises as it fell down like the rain. He shook his head dry, then watched War hover closer. Valser lead Johannah away to the open end of the alleyway, away from the fighting monsters.  
  
As War positioned himself above NigSek, he leapt up onto his feet and jumped up into the angel. His horns latched on to War's dangling feet, and it caused him to lose balance. He flew into the wall behind NigSek with a crack, and fell on top of his spiked shell. He fell too soft to impale himself, but he had become dazed anyway. NigSek shook him off his back, onto the floor below him.  
  
He took a step forward and faced War. He was about to get up, when he noticed the rumbling house behind him. More stones fell onto him. Then the house toppled over.  
  
War barely had time to cry out in fear as the whole side of the house crumbled down on to him. The falling bricks and planks of wood completely buried him, and as the dust clouds died down, all they could see was a damp, soggy mess of architectural materials, where War was.  
  
Yet NigSek had doubts. 'That won't stop him.' He warned the other two, over his shoulder.  
  
Johannah lifted an outstretched hand to NigSek's face. 'Nigrowb....... Sekapook........'  
  
NigSek paused. He had an apologetic look on his face when he looked at Johannah's fair, fragile little self. He stomped up to her, silently as he came closer to the baby, and leaned down from his great height to look at her. He blinked occasionally as the dirty raindrops stung his eyes. Here, he was showing his truth. He felt slightly confident, now he had absolutely nothing to hide - unlike he did in his previous two bodies. This, what Johannah was looking at, was her bodyguard.   
  
She reached out to touch his snout, scaly and rough as his natural body intended. 'NigSek...... you were here to save me....... And my child......'  
  
NigSek breathed in deeply, and concentrated. His mind and head separated into two again. 'Us two, the halves of NigSek's mind.....'  
  
'...... was what you have been talking to, for the past ten months.' Nigrowb and Sekapook told her. Between them.  
  
She was so unbelievably devastated, she could hardly answer. She didn't know what to say.  
  
NigSek's head reformed again. His eyes were still blinking independently of each other for a while after. He smiled weakly. 'More impressive with a monster on your side than two stupid men, isn't it?' He joked.  
  
Valser lifted an arm onto NigSek's shoulder. 'NigSek, you are far too modest to see reason. You have done a fine job, and-'  
  
War's clawed hand shot straight out of the rubble, aloft in the air. A lightning bolt struck up in the sky, flashing a silhouette of his arm before them.  
  
'You two had better move.' NigSek urged. 'I'll settle this with War.'  
  
But Valser reached into his backpack with a serious fighting look on his face. He lifted both hands behind his back, to grab for the handle of a weapon which stuck out slightly. With a sleek noise he unsheathed the weapon and held it before him. It was a monstrous, double- handed sword. The top of which curved inwards before reaching the point. Bravely he stepped to the rubble.  
  
A boulder flew from the rubble and embedded itself firmly into the side of the house behind them. From where it flew, War's head and body was seen. Its other hand reached out to pull himself out.   
  
Valser didn't wait. Marching up to the Angel and fingering the sword in his two hands, he yelled out in fury as he held it behind his head. He threw it down with all his strength, onto the head of the being.  
  
But War was free from the rubble, and he irritably leaned to the side to avoid the swipe. He slashed down onto the sword from above with his right arm. However, his claws only dug in to the side of the sword and chipped it. It didn't slice the metal!  
  
Valser sneered at the angel, and raised his sword before his face. He walked crab- like away from the rubble, with War following him with his arms outstretched beside him. He made little clicking noises with his mandibles.  
  
War slashed at him again with his claws, but Valser parried with a twist of his hands. The sword chipped more, and little sparks flew and bounced onto the floor. The sword, NigSek thought as he watched, would never be its shiny polished self again. But it was all Valser had to fight War. War whipped his hand in the air again at him, and Valser blocked it again.  
  
NigSek stomped forward, alongside Valser. When War attacked Valser again, he grabbed War by one hand and threw him into the grasp of his other two hands. He was holding War up to his chest, squeezing him around his neck. When he heard War's exoskeleton crack, he threw him away from them, towards the other end of the alley. He artfully twisted in the air and landed on his feet, facing them with his claws scraping on the ground. He looked unhurt, despite the strength NigSek had put in to that crush.  
  
NigSek concentrated. In a controlled flash within his mind's eye he unleashed all of his fury, rage and torment. He felt his mouth burn up with heat, and he inhaled as much air as he could into his huge lungs. He snapped his mouth shut when he felt his chest would burst, and threw his head forward with his mouth open. From it flew a giant smoking ball of flame, illuminating the walls as it traversed down the alley, towards War. It engulfed him completely within a second, and his body was caressed in flames. His arms shook in the air with the pain.  
  
NigSek blew the itchy smoke out of his mouth. 'That should hold him off.' He wheezed.  
  
They started to move away, when the house behind War suddenly crumbled and disappeared in dust. War was too far away to be caught by it, but he couldn't care with all the fire over him.  
  
But everyone else stared into the eyes of a Rhyhorn, who bellowed to them in the alley. His breath was so strong in force, everything stumbled away from it, and the rain was pushed away in mid- fall, too. The Rhyhorn backed away from the hole, eyeing them.  
  
'This place is not safe for us anymore.' Valser warned them. 'We must get out of Hyrule City. Now.' He walked to the exit of the alleyway they had been in.  
  
Johannah stared longingly at her home, nestled between the two other houses in the alleyway, silently. NigSek grabbed her by the arm, which jolted her thinking out of process. 'Come on, Johannah.' He said to her.   
  
They all finally went around the corner leading out of the alleyway. NigSek looked back to see only the flashing shades of yellow lighting the walls, with the present of War lighting the alley. Strangely, he wasn't following them.  
  
They were in the open Market Square - riddled with monsters and soldiers. It was a complete mess of a town now, and the Rhyhorns were marching around the houses trampling over them. A huge body laid over the pathway which lead up to the drawbridge, with men frantically fighting Tamorans who were climbing over it.  
  
'How do we get out now?' Johannah asked worriedly.  
  
Valser eyed an alley on the other side of the market square. 'Follow me.' He muttered, scooting off. NigSek bounded off after him. Johannah followed behind, slower because she was carrying the baby Link in her hands.  
  
But as they entered the alley, they heard loud chittering from behind them. They looked behind to see three Tamorans leap after them down to the entrance to the alley. One leapt up with incredible ease to the wall, and sprinted along it to them.  
  
NigSek scowled. He let Johannah past, and stepped before the Tamorans. One lunged at him bearing teeth, but he slapped it away with one clawed hand. It squealed as it coated its green blood in little specks over the floor and wriggled at the base of one wall.  
  
Then he inhaled deeply, and roared. He bellowed with all the terrifying power he could muster, and Valser and Johannah jumped. The Tamorans were blown away like leaves to the other end of the alley, along with other bits of fallen rubble scattered over the ground.  
  
But the two Tamorans were fully prepared to fight on any side of their bodies, and after recovering they came towards him in strides again. One was on its two forelegs, the other was on its two back legs.   
  
The one on his front legs reached NigSek first. He clamped one of his arms and tugged it hard towards him. However, NigSek had the much stronger strength, and he pulled the attached Tamoran to him. He then swiped with his other two hands at his leg. It sliced into three pieces, and the Tamoran leapt away with only three legs. The stumpy bloody end wriggled around above his head, and he frothed more foam around his mouth.   
  
NigSek pulled the flawed paw off of his hand, and threw it away. He was tackled by the other Tamoran who leapt over and into him. NigSek was pushed onto his spiny back, and his legs were kicking in the air. The Tamoran had him pinned to the ground, and with his long sharp teeth proceeded to bite out of his belly. It only succeeded in producing little scratches and scrapes, as his belly was fully armored.  
  
NigSek roared, and slapped the Tamoran off of him. It flew into the wall, and cracked - both the wall and the creature itself. It fell to the floor in a little shattered mess, before it disappeared.   
  
He turned and eyed the standing, three- legged Tamoran with his red eyes. Immediately, it bounded away.   
  
But before he could feel triumphant, he heard Johannah scream behind him. NigSek turned- and, to his horror, War had appeared. He had Valser backed towards the wall, sheathing his claws.  
  
NigSek was really, really getting infuriated with this thing. He marched up to War, ready to slash at him again. He raised a hand above his head, ready to strike.  
  
But War spun around with his claws out. He faced NigSek and watched as now the monster grabbed his arms, where War had slashed him. A few drops of blood fell to the floor, coating his chubby hands.  
  
NigSek snarled. 'How can you cheat death and forever purge us?' He asked with rage.  
  
'I don't cheat Death.' He commented. He raised a hand to the air, and clicked his fingers. A monstrous Arabian- style katana blade, rimmed with spikes, appeared in his hand. 'He simply owes me the favors.'  
  
NigSek watched the blade with caution, but as he blinked, it changed into a fencing sword. He closed his eyes, and opened them again- and this time, it was a classical barbarian blade. Every time NigSek blinked, it was a different sword. But how?  
  
War chuckled, then slapped NigSek around the face with the broad side of it. He toppled to his side, arms flailing. Johannah, who had been standing up next to the wall with her back away and Link clasped closely to her chest, edged away. Valser still held his weapon to his face.   
  
War admired NigSek's stillness, then he faced Valser. 'With Madnifflehewu, I shall SLAY THEE!' He edged to him, readying his sword to attack.  
  
Valser lifted his sword to him - and it was cut neatly in half. The once proud sword end clattered to the floor, much like his previous sword did. The cut end was burning white hot.   
  
Valser's eyes bulged. He looked at the end of his sword, then at War. Without hesitance or pity, War lunged his blade forward. Valser winced.  
  
'NO!!!!' Johannah cried out in terror. Her free hand was reaching out to him. But, there was nothing she could do.  
  
Valser and War was still. In the poise, Valser dropped the handle of the sword. He didn't breath, he didn't blink, he just stayed there. War was like a statue, with the sword - which Johannah saw was a double- edged sword, now - cruelly impaled through Valser's armor plating and stomach.  
  
And so Valser's face was still motionless as his hands, then head, fell limp over the blade of the sword. With a final twist, and a jerk upwards through his body, War finally shook the body off of the end of his blade. It collapsed to the floor.   
  
NigSek had only just gotten back off of the ground. It was only now that he had witnessed Valser's death. It was only now that his anger, deep inside him, grew more than he had ever felt it grow for a long time. War had defeated the man - now, he had no more help. It was all up to him.  
  
But now, he had a final sickening thought - he had failed his task. It was now that he remembered Valser telling him that he had no uncle which Link was to stay with. If that was true, then he couldn't afford to let anything worse happen to his parents, else the history of time might be overthrown into chaos. Now, it had already begun.   
  
War looked slyly to the other two. Madnifflehewu covered in blood, he rubbed the ball of his clawed thumb along the edge of it. With it now dripping in blood, he coated the edges of his mandibles with it. He cleaned them in his mouth. 'How very, very weak blood.' He mentioned, sickly sweet.  
  
NigSek leapt at War, claws outstretched. He grabbed the hand which held the blade in, and twisted it around to a ninety- degree angle behind his own back. It made a bone- snapping crack, and it drooped down to his side when he let go again. War was not discouraged, though, as he lashed around with his claws to NigSek's side. This was the one part of him uncovered, and it was a way for War to get to his vital organs.  
  
The skin on NigSek's side was split into little slash- marks, with blood trickling out of them. He slashed again, and it produced a criss- cross pattern over his side. NigSek roared in agony, but he had grabbed War in three arms, so he was in the right position. Looking down, he saw War's crested head. He licked his lips.  
  
Opening his mouth as wide as possible, NigSek fit his whole mouth over the top of War's crested horns on his head. He clamped down hard, and felt the bones of the head crack under the sheer pressure he put on them. However, it was hurting his mouth just as much with all of the spikes embedded into the inside of his mouth.  
  
War went limp. NigSek released him, and he fell down to the ground. The spiny- shelled creature moved away, and spat the blood from his mouth out to the side. His teeth were coated with red. It was his blood, though - War does not bleed. He watched with anticipation to see if he would get up again. He didn't seem to, but it could be deceptive. Still looking at War's body, he stomped away down the alley to take Johannah with him. His footsteps shook the alleyway with soft thuds.   
  
But as he grabbed Johannah's arm, she tugged it away again. She was still looking at Valser's lifeless body, on the floor close to War. Her cheeks were covered in tears, indistinguishable from the falling rain, which drenched her face and hair. She was breathing with difficulty, and very deeply. 'V.....Vals..Valser.' She muttered softly.   
  
The body didn't move. It stayed there, sogged and depressing.   
  
She stepped closely to the body, and bent down to it. She still held Link in her right arm, who was still asleep. 'Valser?' She breathed. With her soft and delicate hand she brushed the side of Valser's face, moving the wet strands of hair away from his open eyes.  
  
Johannah closed her eyes. Why was she even bothering? She had lost her husband, and nothing alive could bring him back. Regretfully, she placed her fingers softly on Valser's eyelid, and moved it down to cover his eyes. In that way, as she looked at him again, at least he looked as though he went peacefully to his grave. She gave him a final, farewell soft kiss on his cheek.  
  
NigSek walked silently up to her - pausing momentarily to push War's corpse away from them with his dinosaur- like foot - and placed a hand onto Johannah's shoulder. 'Let's go.' He murmured.  
  
Now, and for the first time for the last ten or so minutes, she felt a warm presence with her. A guardian angel. She put her hand onto NigSek's, and she felt warmer. But now she was petrified. 'I have nowhere to go now.' She said. 'I cannot possibly return home. And as I see my husband before me.....' She trailed off, sobbing.  
  
But NigSek knew where to take her. Immediately it had sprung to mind. Perhaps if he had failed his task of protecting her and Link, he might at least prevent anything further from happening. Anything much worse.  
  
They were travelling over the main battlefield. It had quieted down after the initial battle, and it was a sorry, disgraceful mess compared to what it was before. Hylians, Gerudos, Zoras, Tamorans, Tekities, Stalfos, Flamevos, Quetzel, Skull o' Winds, Moblins, even the mighty Rhyhorns, all littered the landscape. It was a lumpy, bloody graveyard. NigSek almost wretched.  
  
Johannah walked alongside the monster, carrying the child. She stepped over as much as she could, but her dress was getting increasingly muddy. The rain was dying down now, though, so they would dry off soon. But they still had to cross the battlefield.  
  
She pursed her lips. They had been silent for a while, as they moved away from Hyrule Castle. She looked longingly back at it, leaving it behind her forever. The town was more- or- less in complete burning ruins, but the castle was, thankfully, saved. A few other buildings stood undemolished, too. Her home wasn't one of them. She could see a few Rhyhorn bodies nestled between the buildings. She let a tear squeeze out of her eyes.  
  
NigSek noticed her looking back on herself, and sighed. 'This is all my fault.' He said with sorrow.  
  
'Hmm?' Johannah averted her gaze to NigSek.  
  
'I should have stopped War before it all happened. I should have killed him this morning when I had the chance. I was a fool to think that I would defeat him so easily.'  
  
Johannah looked confused. 'You HAVE defeated him.'  
  
But NigSek shook his head. 'I would not bet on that, my dear. If he has a pact with Death himself, he has an potentially unlimited chance of tracking you down, and killing you. He is still alive, looking for you.' He overlooked the landscape, eyeing the undamaged forest area to general south- east. 'The Great Deku Tree is the only place I can think of to offer you protection, and your child.'  
  
Johannah gazed once again at her sound asleep baby. He wriggled about in her arms, then sighed, as he slept more. 'Why does he want us dead?'  
  
NigSek didn't look down to her. 'Your son, within the near future, will destroy that being which we fought in the town. He is here to end Link's life before he lives it any further. He is a coward. He won't even fight him in a later time in his life, so he has come to murder him now.'  
  
She looked at him again, in her arms at peace. 'So, my son really does become a great adventurer.' She said, trying to sound confident. But her emotionless mess of thoughts drowned it out of her.  
  
NigSek was almost going to shout out in frustration. He once knew what was to do here; he was simply here to save Link. He knew that Link had no parents, so he was raised as an orphan child. His parents, however mean it sounded, were expendable. But, by a few words casually mumbled by Valser, his path and task have been traumatized. Was he sent to the wrong time? Did he bring more chaos than was needed? If it was, than who really WAS this child, which Johannah holds in her arms? He goes by the name of Link, but is it the Link he knows in the future?   
  
He placed his wide face into all four of his arms, in despair. He had failed dismally. Now the whole world will have to pay.  
  
Johannah looked at him with sympathy. 'What's wrong?' She asked kindly.  
  
NigSek opened an eye to look at her. He was jealous; she had lost her home, and her husband. Yet she was still able to show her natural kindness to all. He was being selfish in outwardly expressing his suffering. He raised half a smile when his gaze matched Johannah's. She beamed a smile at him.  
  
They reached the beginnings of the forest. Late evening was beginning to edge across the sky between the clouds in orange hues. The clouds were clearing away, although the majority of the sky was still covered. There were the black shapes of the leaves as they looked up from the beginning of the forest. NigSek looked forward, and saw the tree trunk again.  
  
Johannah looked at the tree trunk, then to NigSek. 'I... in there?' She pointed to the black hole open to them.  
  
NigSek nodded.   
  
She lowered her head in a sort of an unaccomplished nod, then stepped towards the tree trunk. There were leaves fallen around the entrance, and they made crisp crackles as she walked forward. Her dress, muddy as it was, was still a pleasant white. She still held the sleeping child in her hands. NigSek simply stood and watched. He would follow behind, to make sure the Deku Tree knew why she was here. Not that he ever doubted that he would know. But rather, it might answer the next, big question he had only just asked himself - what happens afterwards? Where, and when, will he go? Will he even return to his own time? He doubted it. He had failed to recreate the exact replica of Link's timeline. Perhaps Link will still live happily with his mother, and grow up as normal as he was before? But NigSek knew none of the answers; like everyone else, all he could do was.....  
  
A black figure flashed before NigSek's eyes, from above them. It moved about, Then Johannah's head lifted abruptly. She gasped.  
  
Everyone was silent when War had appeared. Johannah looked down shakily to her midriff, and found, to her horror, a blade stuck through her. Long and thin, it had punctured her. She just now felt the stinging, excruciating pain reach her nerves. Blood tipped the end of the blade, and rimmed the hole in her dress.  
  
Then she watched the blade slowly slide out of her, causing more agony. She fell to her knees, choking.  
  
NigSek was now, well and truly, enraged. War, the scabby little creature before him, had shattered all hope of the child ever returning back to normality. He felt his blood boil, his temper burn, his soul angered. He could feel even the inside of his body stoked up in a fiery furnace.  
  
Then War, rather shakily, turned around. He was in a state; his skin was burned and charred, his hard- plated shell cracked, his right arm was still held limp beside him, and his whole head was cracked and dented badly. He even had trouble standing up, and he made the panting breathing movements with his head and chest. His eyes were smoky black from where they had been burned.  
  
'War.' NigSek uttered in the cloudy beginnings of anger. 'Go. Now. Or I will rip you apart until every single part of you lays quivering on the floor.' He snarled, bearing all of his teeth. A flame flickered from between two teeth.  
  
War slowly shook his head. 'Brave beast, do you expect me to fight you, for one last time, in an ultimate battle against war, then?'  
  
NigSek took a thundering step to him, watching carefully the resting body of Johannah behind him. 'Anything you have, angel. Give to me.'  
  
War raised Madnifflehewu, his sword, up before his head. In a green puff of musty smoke, it disappeared. He unsheathed his blades from his hand. They were all bent and dull. 'I am sorry to disappoint you.' He hissed. 'This will all be for no meaning. I will not give you the satisfaction of defeating me in my prime condition. War cannot be fought over, and won, with confidence. One thing you need to understand - my power arrives with misery, and leaves misery behind. Your dissatisfaction will be one thing.'  
  
NigSek took another step to him. He forced his foot down so hard that the rumble made cracking sounds along the ground.  
  
'And this....' He turned away from NigSek, raising a hand to the sky. '.....will be the last.' He was about to throw his sharp blades onto Johannah's body, almost to where her arms were. Carrying.......  
  
'NOOOO!!!!!!!!!' NigSek jumped bellowing at War. One arm grabbed his raised hand, another grabbed his other arm, the other two grabbed his body. War wriggled around in NigSek's grasp like before, throwing his head side to side and making clicking noises with his mandibles.  
  
NigSek was shaking with his own frustration. He tugged hard on his two arms, and they began to make cracking, snapping noises. War screamed and squealed when, with one last tug, War's arms were pulled away from his body. Bloodless and limp, they disappeared in green puffs of smoke in his hand. War's head still thrashed around.  
  
Then NigSek threw the body down to the ground. At once, War began laughing, with no arms. It was a hissing mock laughter. 'I can not do anymore damage now.' He muttered. 'Link.... Is...... already.......'  
  
'NO!!' NigSek yelled. He stomped over to War. 'That is NOT TRUE!!' He raised a foot up, threatening to crush his head underneath his great weight.  
  
War made a little wheezing sigh, before his body shimmered away.  
  
NigSek stomped his foot down. He roared up to the sky, and more little flames flickered out of his mouth. 'WAR, YOU COWARD!!!' He yelled. 'AT LEAST FIGHT ME, ONE LAST TIME!!!!!'  
  
He breathed heavily, with his face fixed into a snarl. His hands were facing palm- up, his clawed fingers clenching into a fist. He stayed looking up into the sky for a few seconds, hearing nothing but the calm wind blowing through the trees.  
  
Then, he heard a cough. Johannah!  
  
Suddenly remembering the poor woman's state, he spun around and looked at the body. It moved as she coughed and spluttered more. He raced up to her, and gently placed an arm on her. He turned her over, to her back.  
  
She had a little trickle of blood that embellished her face. Her eyelids were very heavy - she had trouble keeping her eyes open - and she was going slightly white in the cheeks. She didn't look well at all, yet she still held on to the baby boy as softly and delicately as she could manage.  
  
NigSek was still hopeful. 'Johannah......' He whispered. 'How are you.... Doing?'  
  
Johannah coughed weakly. She managed to smile a pretty, but ill- fated, smile.  
  
'Hang on, hang on.' NigSek carefully placed his two lower arms underneath her, and lifted her with great care. With his other two, he gently took the baby from her weak arms. Her arms flopped down besides her weak body. Her nice dress was now dyed in red, and she had a gaping wound in her body.  
  
NigSek frowned. He could have at least been able to stop her bleeding, or tie a bandage around her. But he wasn't prepared with anything. And now she was near dead in his hands. It was times like this that he really appreciated his healing spring which he used to own in his cave.... But he couldn't dwell on that for much longer. He had to hurry.  
  
He stood up gently, and walked through the hollow tree- trunk. His feet made a soft thud- thud noise when he passed through it, then went back to crunching leaves underfoot. The canopy blocked out the oranges and the grays of the sky, but the leaves of the forest were illuminated from underneath. By something which he could not understand.  
  
He quickly paced across the wooden rope bridge to the other side. All around him was a moist, musty mist. Little lights flew joyfully through the trees, and made pretty patterns with their trailing tails. Some collided, and they would spray small bright specks of themselves in a little radius around them. It looked far nicer than what he saw here before. A few of them even followed him as he passed under the next tree trunk.  
  
He looked down to Johannah's face. Her eyes were closed. 'Johannah.....?' He asked, worriedly.  
  
She moaned weakly. 'I'm still here, Nig...... Sek.'  
  
His eyes darted around nervously as he looked at her. 'You are going to be all right. The Deku Tree will save you.'  
  
She smiled. 'No, NigSek. I know my time has come now. All I can do, is accept......' She trailed off again, and coughed.  
  
NigSek discreetly shook his head. 'Don't say things like that.' He argued. He felt his eyes begin to cloud up. 'You are so young..... you still have a long, long future to look forward to.'  
  
Johannah sighed again. She still looked pretty, and still looked similar to Link. Her blond hair was still wet from the rainstorm, and was soggy as it hung down from her head. The mascara around her eyes was starting to bleed away, leaving little patches of black around her eyes.   
  
But as NigSek walked through the open area, he was even more sad when he looked at her face. She looked like Link, and she was dying. Will this be what he sees when he witnesses Link's death? If he ever did. He could be, in a sense, looking at Link's death now. For his mother wouldn't last for much longer (unless the Deku Tree can save her) so Link would not be able to live long without anyone to look after him. This was all hopeless.  
  
'NigSek?' Johannah stuttered.  
  
He looked down at her expectantly.  
  
Now she began to speak slowly. Her life was ebbing away. 'I...... didn't dream that..... I would be saved... by a monster.' She laughed weakly, barely raising a smile.  
  
NigSek did not appreciate that comment. 'Look at you, though. You're nearly dead. I didn't save you.' He said regretfully.  
  
She tried hard to lift her hand up to touch NigSek's face. She placed her soft, cold hand up against NigSek's scaly snout and caressed it. 'You should learn... not to be so hard on.... Yourself.' She commented. 'You did your very, very........ best, and you know that.'  
  
'But it wasn't enough.'   
  
'So what if I die?' Johannah said angrily. 'I'm sure Link will have someone good to..... live with.' Her eyes opened as wide as possible, staring up into NigSek's face.  
  
He couldn't bare to say it. She was expecting HIM to look after little Link. But he couldn't, because he was to return to his original time, in the future. Yet he didn't have the heart to say that - that would be more painful than the wound already puncturing her now.  
  
He looked around him. He had passed cross the whole area without thinking, even over the water (though it was more shallow to him, because of his size), and was standing before the path to the Deku Tree. He took a deep breath, and boldly walked forward. He passed slowly around the two curves in the path which were bathed in darkness, and arrived at the great Deku Tree's area. He was - expectedly - still there, in his lighted area.  
  
He walked slowly, still holding the baby and Johannah in his arms. The baby stirred more, and now, after a long, long time, opened his eyes. They were bright blue, and as he stared up to NigSek, he cooed and smiled, burbling. But NigSek ignored him. He looked up to the huge Oak tree, holding both in his arms.  
  
'Oh noble creature.' The Deku Tree's voice rang out. 'What bringeth thou to my domain?'  
  
He stepped forward again. 'Deku Tree. You have helped me before in the past. Now, I beseech you to grant me my final wishes.'  
  
The Deku Tree was silent. He seemed to be thinking. 'What do you wish?' He inquired.  
  
He extended his arms to hold out Johannah. 'This woman is Link's mother, but she is heavily wounded. Please help her. Stop her bleeding.'  
  
Almost immediately, the Deku Tree answered. 'I am sorry, but that is beyond my powers.' He said, solemnly.  
  
The arms shook. NigSek squeezed a tear from his eyes. 'Y- you... can't grant her...... a second chance.'  
  
'I am sorry.' The tree replied.  
  
He hung his head low in shame. She will die, soon. Nobody would help her. He couldn't do anything for her.  
  
But........ 'Then, will you take care of her son, Link?' He extended his arms forward, with the baby boy in them.  
  
More silence. Then, he answered. 'That, fortunately, is possible for myself to offer.' He said with grandeur. 'Place the child before me.'  
  
With that, NigSek carefully laid Johannah out on the soft grass before him. She flopped down fairly weakly. He stepped softly over her, then walked up to the Deku Tree. He looked down at Link in his hands, and placed him on the ground. Link's face was starting to turn red. He looked as though he was going to cry.  
  
'Did you hear that, Johannah....' He looked around to Johannah's body.   
  
She was still.  
  
He stomped over to her. 'Johannah?' He picked her up in his hands. Her eyes were closed, her mouth in a little modest pout. She was white of skin, and flopped in his arms.  
  
NigSek couldn't control his crying any more. 'Johannah?' He asked again. He put a hand behind her head to lift it up. It rolled to the side on his palm. Lifeless.  
  
'No....' NigSek uttered softly. A teardrop fell down his cheek, and peaked on the bottom of his lips. He cuddled up to her tightly, but she was cold. She was like a little rag doll, lifeless and limp in his hands. He split his head into two, and each head individually kissed her on her soft cheek, murmuring their good-byes to the passed- away woman, before they reformed again. That way, they could both say goodbye, rather than a goodbye from someone she only met a few hours ago. But she still looked so beautiful, even in her........  
  
He squeezed his eyelids together. Another tear fell out. She had been the one shining moment in his life, along with living the life of a man. Well, two men. To appreciate that, he split his head into two again, and the two halves of him were still extremely sad, sobbing as they looked at Johannah's face. It seemed more right to be in this state, for they were now fully recognizable as two separate people. What he had feared, before he even began this folly, was in vein. He had coped perfectly well as two separate people. Despite a few memory lags along the way, they had their separate identities boosted by this trip. They had only served to further enhance NigSek's experience of life, not to hinder it.  
  
Of life..... and Death. For today, his happy little dream, the miniature little life he lived in for the past ten months, had been shattered. War brought this. War changed everything today. War caused him to follow his basic function here, to rescue Link and his parents.. To feel sorry for letting them die, in light of his mission, was over. Now was the time to feel sorry for letting them die, full stop. Now, everything was miserable. War had bought misery when his presence was here, and left only bad tastes in the mouths of the survivors. He had seen two friends die today, along with many innocent people - even those who were fighting were fighting for no reason. It was because War was playing tricks with them. He messed their minds up. And, when the final time had come, War had not the courage to stand up to it. Perhaps at least, he could triumph over War, forever banishing him from the mortal realm or Hyrule, or ISZAMI. Instead he left with disappointment. He had been through this for absolutely nothing, except to change Link's life. Forever. War was hell on the world.  
  
But now, as Johannah had long since gone, Link bawled. In the silent, peaceful forest, his healthy cry rang through the trees and all around the area where the great Deku Tree was. The area almost seemed to become brighter as the baby cried. But it wasn't a pedestrian cry for food or attention. Nigrowb and Sekapook believed it was, a call, of some sort.  
  
From the ring of darkness under the foliage all around the area, little Faeries appeared. With them, a small child walked out. This was a little girl, with blond hair and knee- high boots. She looked barely ten, but she acted like an adult as she called to the darkness in her childish little voice. She wore a green tunic, like Link did in his later years.  
  
Then, more children walked out. Some waddled, some skipped, but eventually they all walked cautiously, as they came up to observe the little boy, wrapped in rags and crying noisily. Each one had a look of curiosity washed over their faces. One little boy with ginger- red hair pushed another boy out of the way, so he could come to the front to look. This boy looked the bossiest of them all as he cursed to the other children in a bully- like manner. They all surrounded the boy, completely ignoring NigSek.  
  
Around the boy, they mulled and whispered to each other. NigSek couldn't hear what they were saying though, because they were speaking too quietly. There were rather goofy looking boys there, as well as a mixture of blond girls and boys with fat cheeks. They were a rather 'inspired' group of children. But who were they?  
  
Now, they silenced, and parted from the child. Standing just before the baby boy, another girl stood. Dressed like the others, she was infinitely more pretty than the others. She had green hair, and a lovely face. It reminded NigSek of Lucy the little girl, as she stared into his eyes.  
  
Then NigSek blinked, startled. She was the only one paying attention to the huge, spiny- shelled, four- armed monster standing there. Her wide blue eyes were fixed onto his, as he looked back. He was even more surprised than he should be, and she knew this. She giggled sweetly, and closed her eyes for a moment.   
  
She bent down, and carefully picked up the little baby into her arms. It looked over- sized for her, but she carried him with compliance. She rocked him gently quiet again, and the baby burbled when the girl looked into his eyes. She smiled back to him, before the baby finally went back to sleep again.  
  
And, with that, she turned to walk away from the grassy area. The others, and the Faeries, walked away into the dark, shadowy area, around the place. The girl gave one last glance back to NigSek, before silently passing into the shadows.  
  
And, just like that, Link was gone.  
  
But within a blinding, momentary flash, he was no longer standing before the Deku Tree again. He had left.  
  
CHOICE  
  
He was in the whiteness he was in before. No need to ponder any longer on where he was, now.  
  
CONGRATULATIONS, NIGSEK. A woman's voice rang out. YOU HAVE SUCEEDED IN YOUR HONORABLE TASK.  
  
NigSek hardly thought so. BUT I'VE LET LINK'S PARENT DIE. He reminded. THAT WILL AFFECT THE BOY'S FUTURE. WHEN I RETURN, I MIGHT NEVER MEET HIM AGAIN.  
  
There was an unsolicited silence. Then, a jolly fat man's voice chortled. WE BELIEVE YOU MAY HAVE BEEN A TRIFLE MISUNDERSTANDING ON YOUR JOURNEY, he called out. He seemed to be from a great height, but he couldn't tell. FOR A START, THE YOUNG LAD YOU SAVED IS NOT THE BOY YOU KNOW NOW.  
  
NigSek, despite having no body or face, still attempted to pull a face of confusion. EH? He asked, rhetorically.  
  
IT WAS OUR FAULT FOR NOT EXPLAINING IT TO YOU, the man's voice bellowed. BUT NOW, WE ARE IN A SAFE POSITION TO TELL YOU WHAT WE HID FROM YOU.  
  
WHAT DO YOU MEAN? Asked NigSek.  
  
WE TOLD YOU THAT WE WOULD SEND YOU INTO THE PAST, BUT WE DID NOT TELL YOU HOW FAR INTO THE PAST. YOU ARRIVED BEFORE LINK'S BIRTH, AS EXPECTED.  
  
NigSek still didn't understand. I DON'T THINK I KNOW WHAT YOU ARE HINTING AT.  
  
YOU ARRIVED AT THE BIRTH OF A HYLIAN NAMED LINK, BUT NOT THE LINK YOU KNOW. THE ONE YOU HAD MET IN IZSAMI WAS LINK III - THE THIRD MEMBER OF THE LINK FAMILY.  
  
He thought through this carefully. Then, the very notion clicked into place. YOU MEAN..... THAT CHILD WAS LINK'S GRANDFATHER?!?  
  
PRECISELY. The woman's voice carried on for the other one before her. YOU WENT BACK SEVENTY THREE YEARS, TO THE VERY START OF THE GENERATION. WAR WASN'T PLANNING ON DEFEATING ONE HERO OF TIME. HE WAS PREPARED TO ERADICATE THEM ALL.  
  
NigSek felt a pain in himself. He suddenly felt a little sad. BUT NOW, THAT WILL SURELY HAPPEN. WAR HAS KILLED HIS PARENTS, AND HE WILL RISE UP TO NOTHING MORE THAN A CHILD OF THE FOREST.  
  
Another long, silence. The voice that sounded like Death narrated further. NIGSEK, YOU ARE AWARE OF THE HUMAN TERM OF DESTINY, ARE YOU NOT?  
  
YES, NigSek confirmed.  
  
GOOD. THEN, YOU ARE ALSO AWARE OF THE THEORY OF TRAVELLING THROUGH TIME, AND THE EFFECTS THAT SHOULD HAVE ON THE FUTURE OF THAT RESOLVING TIME?  
  
YES.  
  
DESTINY IS ALWAYS SET. IT IS SOMETHING THAT, EVEN WE OURSELVES HAVE TO FOLLOW TO A STRICT REGIME. WE ARE UNABLE TO BREAK IT, EVEN WHEN WE CLAIM TO HAVE DONE SO. EVERYBODY, EVERYTHING, ALL OBJECTS, ANIMALS AND PEOPLE ARE SET TO IT. IT IS SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE COME TO ACCEPT, AND UNDERSTAND.  
  
NigSek accepted this. However, he saw no connection between this and Link's fate. CARRY ON, he pleaded.  
  
DESTINY HAD SET IT THAT HYRULE, IZSAMI, AND ALL OF THE OTHER CONNECTING WORLDS WOULD BE CREATED. DESTINY SET IT THAT EVIL AND DEATH WOULD ESCAPE OUR UNIVERSE AND REFORM AS THE ANGELS FOUR IN YOURS. DESTINY SET IT THAT YOU WOULD BE THE ONE WHICH WE WOULD CHOOSE, OUT OF ALL THOSE THAT LINK KNEW. WE CLAIM TO THINK BY OURSELVES, BUT DESTINY CONTROLS OUR THOUGHTS.  
  
NigSek, befuddled, finally realized what he was saying.  
  
THAT IS CORRECT, NIGSEK. DESTINY SET IT THAT WAR WOULD KILL LINK'S PARENTS, AND HE WOULD BE PASSED TO THE CHILDREN OF THE KOKHIRI FOREST. FROM THEN, HE IS BROUGHT UP TO THE AGE OF TEN, WHEREUPON HE LEAVES THE FOREST TO ADVENTURE. HE WAS DESTINED THEN TO MEET THE PRINCESS ZELDA OF HYRULE, AND TO SLAY THE EVIL INCARNATION OF DARKNESS KNOWN AS GANON.  
  
Of course! Link HAD said something to him before, about his grandfather adventuring in Hyrule. How could he have forgotten about that? Perhaps it was all those years spent in the IZSAMI Dome.  
  
AND YOU WERE DESTINED TO GO BACK INTO THE PAST, MEET VALSER AND JOHANNAH RUTH, AND EVENTUALLY CONFRONT WAR- AND LOSE.  
  
But now, NigSek was even more confused. BUT IF WAR DID NOT KILL LINK, THEN I HAVE WON THAT FIGHT! He protested.  
  
But they had a reasonable answer to this, as usual. THINKING IN THE TERMS OF PROPHECY, AND IN THE BALANCE OF THE GODS, THAT IS SO. BUT TO LOOK AT IT IN YOUR OWN UNDERSTANDING, WAR HAS KILLED LINK'S PARENTS, AND CAUSED THE SLAUGHTER OF MANY, MANY PEOPLE IN HYRULE - SOME OF WHICH MAY NEVER BE SEEN AGAIN. AND WAR NEVER TRULY DIED, FOR HE WAS NOT DEFEATED IN HIS ELEMENT.  
  
YOU MEAN, NigSek asked. THAT WAR IS STILL ALIVE?  
  
A silence, some more. Then; YES........ BUT NOT HIS TRUE MORTAL SELF - HE HAD ONLY ONE CHANCE TO ENTER YOUR WORLD AS HIS OWN BEING. IF HE EVER COMES AGAIN, HE WILL BE WEAKER.  
  
Oh. So he might come back, but that would mean to possess another person, which would confine him to mortal boundaries. That means he has less power, so can be defeated with a little more ease. But he has none to worry about, for Link is still safe, and he is back to normal, and so is everyone and everything else around him. He was ready to return.  
  
He was ready to return, however, to his life in the Dome. As a hideous monster. Forever cut off from the world around him, and left only to observe from an inanimate life, to see the lives of everything else around the Dome, continue without them. He had felt it slightly before, but now, after being in human bodies for nearly a year, he could not possibly cope with it otherwise. He had too much of a vulnerable, mortal life within him.  
  
IS THAT WHAT YOU TRULY BELIEVE, NOBLE CREATURE?  
  
NigSek shook his conscious out of his thought process. UM, WELL, IT WAS...... He stumbled on the words to describe it.  
  
WE UNDERSTAND YOU. LIVING THE LIFE OF AN OBSERVER IS SIMPLY NOT SUITED TO YOU. POWER AND SECURITY MEAN NOTHING TO YOU. LIFE AND LIVING IS WHAT YOU CRAVE THE MOST.  
  
He felt a little coy. I AM SURE THAT IF I WAS TO RETURN TO THE DOME, I WOULD FEEL THE SAME AS BEFORE.  
  
Now the child's voice began talking. GREAT BEAST, ARE YOU STILL RESPECTFUL OF YOUR INHERENT BODY? WE BELIEVE YOU FELT.... INSECURE, WITHOUT IT.  
  
He paused. What was he asking? Obviously he loved his monstrous body - he was appreciative that he was able to cope with living for six hundred years in it, and the power he was able to command with it was unbelievable. Nobody would dare attempt to attack a monster like him!  
  
But.... nobody would come near a monster like him either. For his body produced some undesirable consequences. Mentia had once shown this insecurity he aroused when nearby a person, and many other people which he had met had shown it before. They were all wary of him, because of his power and ferocity. It made him deeply upset to think of it like this, as he was not really a nasty person. Yet, it wasn't a case of 'looking under the surface', either.  
  
He had spent six hundred years eating women, men and children alike, mostly in cold blood. He was told to do this to look after the balance of good and evil - but these actions were to enforce evil. Now many people will see him as a monster by looks AND nature. Even though he was not required to do this anymore, he still had to carry this heavy burden around with him, a reminder of his roots.  
  
WE HAVE A DEBT TO PAY TO YOU, NIGSEK, the child's voice reminded him. THOUGH WE ARE NOT RENOWN FOR DELIVERING SPECIAL PROMISES.  
  
NigSek's face brightened. Well, he imagined his face would brighten, if he had it with him. DO YOU MEAN TO SAY THAT......?  
  
YES. WE CAN GRANT YOU A SINGLE WISH, BASED ON WHAT YOU YOURSELF WERE THINKING JUST NOW. ABOUT YOUR BODY. A brief pause. WE UNDERSTAND WHAT THIS TIME OUTSIDE OF YOUR DRAGON- LIKE BODY HAS DONE TO YOUR SOUL. WE KNEW THIS BEFORE YOU LEFT. SO WE HAVE PREPARED FOR WHAT WE ARE ABOUT TO GRANT YOU.  
  
NigSek kept silent, looking into the white all around him. He expected them to ask now.  
  
BEFORE YOU RETURN TO YOUR ORIGINAL TIME, TO YOUR HOME, WE CAN LEAVE YOU WITH ONE OF THE TWO STATES, FOREVER. WHICH DO YOU WISH FOR?  
  
He had a thought. W- WHA..... WILL THIS EFFECT MY... DESTINY?  
  
The woman's voice. YOU ARE AN INTELLIGENT SOUL, TO ASK THAT. BUT YOUR CHOICE HAS ALREADY BEEN DESTINED. WHATEVER YOU SAY, YOU WERE BOUND TO CHOOSE IT. THIS DOES NOT, HOWEVER, MEAN THAT WHAT YOU CHOOSE WILL BE RIGHT OR WRONG. YOU MIGHT BE DESTINED TO CHOOSE A DRASTIC MISTAKE. YOU MIGHT EVEN DIE FROM YOUR ERROR. IT DOES NOT GUARANTEE SAFETY, FOR YOU. BUT IT DOES GUARANTEE SAFETY FOR HOW TIME RUNS. YOU WILL NOT CHANGE DESTINY, NO MATTER HOW MUCH YOU TRY.  
  
He took a thoughtful deep breath, clearing his mind. His old form...... his new form........ both have equal rights, both have equal wrongs. Both will seal his fate. The one he chooses will be the best for all. His old, six- hundred year- old body, or his two human forms? Both minds, separate from one another..... forever.   
  
HAVE YOU CHOSEN YET? The woman probed.  
  
A long, long silence from NigSek. YES, was his bold reply. Then, he told them.  
  
Beauty, beauty, all around. In the floral area, up in the sky, along the shiny glass- sheen of the IZSAMI Dome. A puffy cloud edged lazily over the sky, level with the horizon. The sun beat down on them as boldly and strong as it ever did. Link had to wipe his brow of the sweat, because it was still fairly warm.   
  
He looked slowly around him, at the flat land plain and free of trees and bushes. The forestry was a fair pace away from the beginning of the Dome, starting like a thick wall of roots, trees and plants. The feint sound of bees wavered around them, from the odd flower nestled snug in the yellowing grass. From above the forest canopy, miles into the distance, the mountains and valleys rolled around them with a continuous pattern, all around him.  
  
'Do you think he will remember us, Mentia?' Link wondered. He looked back at his wife, standing beside him in her clean and striking deep blues and violets. She had worn her classic outfit, with her cape and polite little top. She had traveled with him in her light blue leather boots, modestly cut up to half- way towards her knees, so they covered a fair bit of her legs. He had her long blond hair loosely tied into a ponytail, which flopped down her back behind her. She smiled and averted her gaze when Link looked at him.  
  
'If he can remember your Triforce symbol after six hundred years, I'm sure he will remember us after three.' She tittered.  
  
Link raised half a smile. 'I will have to have words with him if he doesn't.' He mocked. Then he looked high up to the curving side of the Dome, scratching the back of his head. The golden angular shapes of the buildings inside gleamed with the reflected sunlight, and together with the reflection on the Light Shield produced lots of different white shapes. They alone made Link look away, lest he be blinded.  
  
He walked slowly, with Mentia, up towards the shield. This wasn't the spot which he had entered when he was with everyone else long ago, because there was a river which came out from the one before. This just lead up to a neat little path, lined with trees, and showing a clear view of the hovering Segment in the center.  
  
Why was he here, he asked himself? Then he remembered, as quickly as he forgot. He had just been adventuring only a few months beforehand (which was when he became married to Mentia) and once again saved the day. He had decided simply to visit old friends which he had met on his adventures who he hadn't seen for a long time. He had seen Stokitle of Stokitle Village, and taken time to admire the Peezt City, which was surprisingly finished by the time they arrived there. Three years ago, that was no more than desert - now it had grown into a highly- populated villa. They were now on their way to say the greetings to the four mortals of the City of Gold - Kee, Eda' locca, Gengaa and, above all, NigSek. After this, they would make their way to the Krib Treetops to see Pengal and the Strange. Perhaps they could be taken back to their ship in Mochaku Bay using his dragon steed Nektaa.  
  
But now, they had to work out how to meet and greet their old friend in the City. And, if they couldn't get in, it would be hopeless. Perhaps their old protection would still hold out.....  
  
'You don't suppose we could simply walk in to the shield and we would survive, like before?' Link asked Mentia.  
  
She shook her head, doubtful. 'It might have worn off.' She reminded him.  
  
He placed his hands on his waist, pondering. 'Then, how do we get in?' He glanced at Mentia, who shrugged.  
  
Then, peering through the semi- transparency of the shield, they saw a little object move around. It hovered up to the inside edge of the dome. Actually, there were two of them - but one had stopped floating to them. The other one, worried, floated back to the stationary one and circled around it.  
  
Both Link and Mentia walked closer, squinting. She brushed the curl of hair away from her face, which sprung back into place. They saw, to their surprise, the first floating ball of light actually disappear, with a puff. The first one was completely shocked, much more so than the onlookers were.  
  
They were now a breath's way away from the humming shield. If it was glass, Link would have put his face up to it, in a comical manner. He watched the remaining spirit pause in its frenzied flying pattern, then zoom right up to the inside edge of the Dome - up to Link and Mentia.  
  
Link jumped back, then they both watched the spirit expand and dim into a little shape. The spiky gray thing dropped to the ground onto his feet, and he stared at them both individually, with his red eyes.  
  
'Mentia!' Link exclaimed. 'It's Gengaa!'  
  
Mentia gasped. She peered closely, observing it as though he was an animal in a zoo. 'I haven't seen you in years!' She remarked.  
  
Gengaa jumped in surprise. 'Good grief! It's you two!' He blurted. 'What are you doing here?'  
  
'We came to see you, and the other three.' Link said cheerfully. Then he looked around the inside of the Dome, around the windows and ledges of the buildings in view. 'Er, you haven't seen NigSek around, have you?'  
  
Gengaa looked back on him, then back to Link. 'Did you see what happened just then?' He said grottishly.  
  
Link and Mentia nodded in confirmation.  
  
'Well, THAT WAS NIGSEK!!' He said in a panic. 'He just...... vanished. Before me.'  
  
Mentia looked curious. 'Why did he disappear?' She queried.  
  
'Do you think I would be acting like this if I knew where he went?!' Gengaa exclaimed. He ran around in an over- exaggerated frenzy, right before them.   
  
Link spread his hands out quickly. 'Calm down, calm down little fella.' He urged. 'There's no need to run around like a Cucco with his head cut off.'  
  
Gengaa stopped running around, and he began to breath heavily. Licking his lips, he caught his breath finally, then began to talk again. 'Well, we were coming along here to see if we could leave the Dome at will, when he suddenly went in thin air. I don't know why he did this, and I'm worried it might happen again.'  
  
Link tutted. The same old Gengaa - self- centered, cheeky, rude, impudent little ghost. Yet somehow, he found him fairly amusing past the vital, competitive stage. He wasn't really so bad, despite being of evil spirit. He was the type of evil that people would like, even though they wouldn't admit it.  
  
Mentia tapped Link on the shoulder. 'Ask where the other two are - perhaps they might know where they are.' She whispered.  
  
Link cleared his throat. 'Excuse us. Do you think you can find Kee and Eda for us? They may shed some light onto it.'  
  
Gengaa started to float, grinning. He then brightened and shrunk, and went whizzing of between the buildings. He disappeared from sight.  
  
Link looked to Mentia over his shoulder. 'Do you think this is serious?' He asked. Mentia thought, then shook her head.  
  
They waited for a while, with Link tapping his foot on the ground. Mentia sighed heavily and repeatedly. They both exchanged several glances. They had to wait for what seemed like an unusually long time.  
  
Eventually, three little white spirits came floating to them. One began screeching when it came to them, and giant white wings flapped out of it. It landed on the ground just before the shield, on two bird- like feet. An arching neck protruded out of the whiteness, then solidified into a bird.  
  
The other two shapes enlarged into amorphous shapes, then dimmed into their shapes. The old woman with the shriveled face was in the center of the three, and Gengaa stood on her left.  
  
Immediately the little shriveled mouth smiled. 'Hello, Link.' She greeted, in an elderly voice.  
  
Link nodded his head gratuitously. 'Nice to meet you again, Eda.' He replied back. He faced the bird. 'And you too, Kee.'  
  
'Keeeeee!' The bird cawed.  
  
Eda slowly looked around her. 'We believe that NigSek is... missing.' She commented.  
  
Immediately, Link remembered. 'Oh yes.' He began. 'We thought maybe you could explain why NigSek has disappeared, just this moment. Gengaa had kicked up a bit of worry over the matter.' He gazed at Gengaa, who scowled back at him.  
  
Eda's face seemed to frown. Most of her face was covered by her long, draping hood, but her face wrinkled more. 'I don't think we can help much.' She admitted. 'We know as much as you do on the subject.'  
  
He was just about to say something, when, all of a sudden, an object flashed before them. It was another white, glowing object, but it was right before Link's eyes. He stumbled back in surprise as it made a high pitched beaming noise, hovering in mid- air. Mentia, Gengaa, Kee and Eda all backed away and watched the mysterious object appear before them.  
  
It expanded further, and further, and further. The light became so bright, that nobody could see anything. He couldn't even see if it was on the outside of the Dome, or the inside. Link had to shield his eyes, as it made everything around them seem white.  
  
The light diminished, and everyone saw what had just appeared.  
  
THE END  
  
By Jon Davies. 


End file.
